The Dragon Keeper
by Child Of The West Wind
Summary: Armed with a little more knowledge, the Keyblade Masters are prepared to protect the emerging dragons from the encroaching shadows that would seek to do them harm. These same shadows appear to threaten the very Balance of the Worlds; its going to take a lot of little known and archaic lore to unravel their plans, and it is not completely certain in who they can place their trust...
1. Prologue

**AN: It's finally here! xD this is the second story in a wider arc I intend to write so I suggest that you read** The Dragon's Key **first or else most of this will not make much sense. I have had this particular chapter in the works for months now but prevailing ill health kept pushing it out of my to do list, hence the massive delay. I will try to keep the ball rolling on this project as consistently as I can.**

 **While going back over a few things in the previous story to refresh my memory I noticed a lot of typos I didn't catch in my proofreading… I will endeavour at some point to go back and fix that. I also came to the realisation that my word processor seems to think the colloquial Irish term for idiot is spelt 'egit' and before I blindly accepted this without question, but I have since found that it should in actual fact be spelt 'eejit'. Its good word for how I feel right now xD that is another thing I will be editing in the future so I apologise for the discrepancy.**

HeartofFyrwinde **has been a massive help to me in the past and continues to be so :) much of the revised plot for this story was done with their help and support, so you can thank them for helping to keep the story afloat so far!**

 **The disclaimer in my profile accounts for the elements I have filched from other works in this story; only my OCs belong to me.**

 **And this opening totally isn't a rip off of** _ **How To Train Your Dragon 2**_ **and I haven't been fangirling about the film since it came out. AHEM.**

 _ **Prologue**_

The sky was that clear, beautiful, _invigorating_ blue. The only mars to its countenance were the odd streak of fluffy white cloud far off on the horizon; a vast expanse of nothing but wind and sun and endless possibility. The air was so cold up here, made even more so by the speed with which they moved.

A large dragon sped through the lower atmosphere, going as high as he dared while his rider lay flat against his back, nestled in a purpose built saddle that helped keep her seat with the minimal aid of straps and buckles. He was covered in black, raven hued feathers, with patches of purple ranging from light to deep in a pattern not unlike that of a butterfly's on his wings, and in soft streaks along his spine down to the two rhombus shaped fins at the end of his tail that changed shape slightly and turned to compensate for the change in airflow over his body and kept his flight stable. A thick crest of short, stubby purple feathers encrusted his lower jaw, and the upper part of the front of his neck was also purple but the feathers were smaller and finer like the rest of his pelt. Two curved horns protruded from his skull and curled over the back of his head; eyes of liquid amber gazed straight up into that endless blue firmament.

The small rider on his back was clad in bright armour of silver and amethyst hues, etched delicately with stylised feathers and with a helmet that echoed the headgear of the dragon she rode. She grabbed a hand rest at the front of the saddle and carefully drew her knees up to her chest so that she was crouched on the seat as the dragon tilted himself backwards, as though to perform a loop. As they hung there upside down in the endless sky, mother earth below – a welcoming sea of green – the rider let go of the handles and pushed with her legs, launched herself down into earth's embrace.

The dragon jerked his head back further and followed her descent in a straight line to the ground. He roared with gladness and pride as he heard a wordless scream of delight from his rider, her arms out stretched as she rejoiced in the weightless feeling of the dive. He angled his body and spread his wings just enough to slow his own descent so that they fell at the same rate. His considerable weight would have pulled him down faster otherwise, and they would not have been able to share in each other's moment of joy.

They both turned their heads to look at each other; the dragon opened his mouth and made loud chirruping noises, almost like a bird, before deepening his voice to a more guttural, rasping sound a bit like a bark. Although a helmet hid her face, he knew she was grinning at him, and he could just hear her laughter over the roar of the wind. She twisted her body slightly and stretched so that she slowly revolved like a graceful dancer in the air, without spinning out of control as she had done in the past. He pulled away a little to give himself room, and did the same, contorting his body into fantastic shapes to show his flexibility and imagination.

As the ground came closer and the sky loomed ever higher, the armour-clad rider tilted her head upward towards the forest below, as though looking up with her eyes closed and just enjoying that moment in time. Then, before their altitude became critical, she reached for the saddle that was already being twisted towards her, and grabbed at the handle across the front, tucking her legs into the grooves made to fit her legs that helped to keep her in the seat.

The dragon twisted and unfurled his wings, maximising the size of his tail fins and spreading each limb to their fullest extent to catch the air and slow their descent. The force hit them like a solid wall, and they slowed right down, before levelling out to skim the tops of the trees. The dragon roared aloud with jubilation, relishing every sight, sound and smell as he sped across the top of the forest. Then he pulled up into a tight loop, spinning in a barrel roll as he did so, and made a sound that was almost like a human 'whoop' of delight as his rider sat up in the saddle, hanging on to the hand holds with her head thrown back, making the same sound in delight.

They spun and twisted together towards a flattened outcropping of rock, where he threw out his wings yet again to slow them down, and then landed rather abruptly but smoothly. He sat back on his haunches, and then stretched his front legs out before him and dipped his forequarters as he yawned and rolled his shoulders. His rider slid from his back, laughing and giddy from the rush of adrenaline still coursing through her body.

Reaching up, she unhooked the helmet she wore and cast it aside so she could hug the dragon's muzzle close to her. He whined and made a grating sound deep in his throat as he licked her cheek and nuzzled at her chest.

Her long blonde hair fell in corkscrew curls, and was partially bound up in different, small and elaborate braids surrounding a larger waterfall braid, ending in small beads of carved wood and bone, and with a few black and purple feathers woven into them. She was fair skinned, high cheek boned, with brilliantly green eyes that somehow seemed to collect the light around her, and somehow reflect it back out again.

"That was a good run," she said breathlessly, kissing the dragon's nose while he closed his eyes and grated to her. "Well done, Leo!"

The dragon lifted his head a little and took a small step back, making a keening sort of noise in his throat and dancing on his toes, tail thumping against the ground.

"Come on, we should be getting back. I'm starving," she rubbed his muzzle one last time before she bent to scoop up her helmet and pulled it over her head. She expertly climbed up his side into the saddle that stretched quite a long way down his back, but was segmented and hinged to allow him comfortable and flexible movement. He rolled his shoulders again and stretched his back legs while she found her seat, and then took off from a stand still, back into the sky.

This time, they skimmed the treetops and flew over a valley that rounded a small mountain, and there in the distance was a castle built into the landscape: the home of the Keyblade Masters.

XOXOX

In a deep, dark cavern somewhere far beneath a forsaken looking mountain range shrouded in thick mists, there slouched a man against a deep basin set on a plinth of roughly hewn stone. The water within the basin kept jumping and spitting, but it was ice cold to the touch; the man barely noticed as he prodded the surface with the fingers of his right hand. The image of a tribal swallow was clearly inked into the skin on the back of this hand. He was dressed in long robes of heavy fabric that usually completely covered him from sight, when the hood was up and the sleeves were not rolled past his wrists.

He had a thin, narrow face with an unpleasant sort of expression because there was no warmth in his pale grey eyes. Every so often, from below the surface of the water an image would emerge before it fragmented and fell into a small cascade of spitting droplets again and again. Always, it was a young woman with blonde hair against a shifting black background that sometimes morphed into more discernable shapes, like a long snout or black, purple-flecked wings. She was smiling, laughing – clearly happy.

The man straightened up sharply as the image boiled and once again fell apart, and re-emerged strongly with the face of a man. He was grey eyed, with shoulder length hair and a single thin lock that hung right down the front of his face; his expression was formidably grim.

"Ahh, Cain." Someone spoke from what passed as the threshold of this particular room. "I didn't know you were still here." He spoke pleasantly enough, but Cain's reaction spoke otherwise. "Please, don't rush on my account." The man said politely, gesturing to the plinth. He was rather broadly built, and under his heavy cloak he wore what looked like a uniform of office in white with a sash around the waist like a belt, with some more colourful sashes draping themselves from his waist down his front and side in warm oranges and browns. There was an official looking crest made of straight lines forming diamonds on the sashes. He bore a very carefully trimmed beard of a style quite foreign to this place, and his eyebrows were somewhat bushy and prominent but well kempt. His tone and inflection were very eloquent, speaking of high education and influential status; he could have been a vizier or even a prince. In combination with his attire, something about him just seemed to cry 'politician'.

"Can I _help_ you, Gongora?" Cain asked sardonically, giving the man the merest, most arrogant of glances.

"Alas, you cannot." Gongora put a hand to his brow and shook his head sadly. "What I require is more magic energy to power the generators in our magic engines. I am afraid, you are unable to assist in my particular endeavours. You are, however, perfectly placed for another important task set by our distinguished leader. You would do us all great benefit by completing your assignment-"

Cain threw his head back and marched out of the room, making sure to barge past Gongora, knocking hard against his shoulder to show his utter contempt. Gongora waited for the footfalls to cease before he cast his gaze to the ground, closed his eyes and shook his head as he slowly began to walk forward to the basin. He too gazed into its depths, and the scowling face reappeared larger and clearer than before.

"I'm watching you, Kaim Argonar." He told the image, and all at once his pleasant demeanour fell away, leaving a very malevolent smile in its place.

XOXOX

Master Rhiannon heaved a great sigh, her eyes closed, and tried to ignore the turmoil around her. Merlin's study was in disarray, and a handful of individuals from the Committee were in a corner, arguing. Rather _loudly_ come to think of it. And then in the other corner there was a small group of youths were bickering. Again, rather loudly. The tallest and eldest – and admittedly the most immature – was getting very wound up, until the other Keyblade Master stepped in and dispersed the group with a few quick but kind words, and a couple of snipes directed at one of the young lads. They left with varying degrees of reluctance to fulfil whatever errand that had been asked of them, and the noise levels dropped a little.

Evie turned to find Rhiannon watching her as she ushered Kyo out of the front door, and gave her a scowl.

Rhiannon merely folded her arms and sat back deeper into the armchair she had commandeered and waited for her old friend to join her. So knowing that she was waiting, Evie naturally took the longest route there was to get there via the biggest bookshelf in the room. Once she had found the two _particular_ books she required, Evie plonked herself down on a smaller wooden chair on the other side of the tiny little coffee table, and proceeded to start reading without even a glance in Rhiannon's direction.

"Bitch." Rhiannon said dully into her mug.

Evie looked up with much feigned surprise, her disconcerting eyes wide with colours that Rhiannon was still not used to and never really would be (they _should_ be a bright, cheerful Christmassy sort of red – but instead one was blood red and the other was a creepy lamp-like yellow).

"Oh _good morning_ Rhiannon. How nice to see you. How is everything in _your_ neck of the woods today?"

Rhiannon wrinkled her nose and bit back a curse. Her ship had been the target of hooligan graffiti artists and Evie hadn't come back last night. It made her panic every time though she was not inclined to admit so out loud to anyone. Of course, Eaves _knew_ that…

"Where the feck were _you_ last night than, eh?"

"Err, last _night_ …" she did that thing where she closed her left eye and the right one looked up to the right – the creepy yellow eye Rhiannon struggled to make peace with. "Where was I…? Ah _yes_. I was up all night rewriting computer code – _badly_ – and then I got stuck into some really rather interesting journals Rose found for me about the effects of Mist on flora and fauna in case there were leads on our little _friends_." They both grimaced at the thought of the horribly deformed and deranged creatures that kept cropping up in places, and that by all medical accounts appeared to still be alive purely out of spite. "And then I was compiling that stack of notes Aqua gave me into the journal, and looking at the x-rays and CT scans and trying to think about how to write it up all professional like." She pulled a poker face and went on, "And then I started reading that document on jellyfish migration. What? It was interesting, I don't have to justify myself to you." She added in a rushed snap.

"Whatever ya say pet…" Rhiannon rubbed her temple like she was nursing a headache. Evie was fascinated with ecology and natural history, which were her chief passions after Keyblade lore and archery.

"And somewhere in between these activities – I _must_ have fallen asleep, because I closed my eyes for like a second and then there I was, lying under the table with the book plastered to my face. It was a _really_ interesting read, those jellyfish-"

"I'm sure it was…"

"You know how many other animals rely on them for sustenance? And that they prop up the rest of the wider oceanic ecosystem after plankton?"

"I can imagine…" _Not._

"And total weight for weight they out number any other organism in the sea?"

"That's _nice_."

"What's eating you then?"

Rhiannon looked up with exasperation. Evie's hair was too short – the right shade of brown but chin length on one side and even shorter on the other. And her eyes were wrong, and she insisted on going by 'Lynn'. But she was still Rhiannon's Evie, no matter what.

The ranting about ecology was enough – bless and curse those infernal jellyfish.

"Didn't occur to ya to drop in and let me know you were wastin' your time on that, flower? Just so I knew where you were?"

"I thought when you told me to sod off the other day you were expressing the sentiment that you wanted me out of your hair." Came the amused response as Evie rubbed absently at her jaw.

Rhiannon sighed, and she heard Evie do the same though her face was currently planted into the palm of her hand. They stayed very quiet for a long time, by which point the rest of the hubbub had subsided as people left to run errands. Finally, Rhiannon broached the subject and asked, "So, did you find anytin'?"

Evie exhaled loudly and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "No," she bemoaned. "Nothing new, at any rate. Mist doesn't alter physiology the same way our little _friends_ have been. It causes an actual evolutionary _shift_ , over a number of generations. Probably just in the dozens, but it depends on the complexity of the organism in question – plants are more susceptible, for example, over…let's say a felid. And the mutations in question are very unique to the particular environment the organisms are living in. Ivalice is a great example of localised Mist induced changes in the physiology of its critters. _This_ is a whole other kettle of fish we're looking at here."

Rhiannon blew her cheeks out, disturbing the locks of hair framing her face. " _Another_ dead end…" Maybe they could try hitting their heads against the wall – make at least some headway…

"Yeah…" Evie sighed, but the brightened a little. "But it was still a nice idea. Actually," she fished in her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "I had a bright idea, but I need a book of Master Yen Sid's to do a little research first,"

"What book would that be?" Rhiannon asked, thinking of the halls of the place they had grown up in, similar to Land of Departure but _very_ far from this place. It had occurred to her that maybe they should go back home and check the library there for clues…and knowing their luck if they did their old comrade in arms Kenneth would arrive _here_ looking for them. That would be just Rhiannon's luck, to run in circles after the pair of them…

"I dunno yet. That's what _these_ are for," Evie patted the leather bound cover of one of the books she had pinched from Merlin's shelves. "I need to check up on a couple'a things. But I reckon it might point us in the right general direction."

"As opposed to the _vague_ direction…" Rhiannon grumbled, and stifled a yawn.

"You are such a kill joy." Evie said conversationally, opening the book and straightening up to read.

"You strange person. Reading scientific journals for _fun_."

Evie looked over the top of her oh-so-interesting book with an arched eyebrow, a familiar light flashing in the mismatched colours. "It's called a _hobby_ , Rhi. I like my ecology and shooting at things, and you like weapons craft and covering yourself in body art and yelling at people."

Rhiannon made a rude hand gesture at her, and Evie responded by trying to kick her under the coffee table. It worked because her limbs like the rest of her were very slender and very _long_. The silliness and immaturity of it all had the pair of them giggling amicably before they settled down for some quiet time now that the house was empty but for them and Merlin, who pottered around his contraptions and experiments God only knew the use for, almost as bad as Ansem's own lab up at the castle, apparently oblivious to their presence.

She leaned back in the comfortable chair, and took a deep, relaxing breath. Slowly opening her eyes, she turned to look at Evalyn, who was already making copious amounts of notes in an old sketch pad that Mel had doodled all over at some point in the past.

"We're gonna get'em." Evie said in an undertone, scribbling a furious brainstorm over one page and linking the different thoughts together with different coloured inks. "We are _so_ gonna get'em."

Rhiannon rolled her eyes, shaking her head, before turning to sip at her cooling tea. If anyone could, she supposed, it would be Evie.

XOXOX

It was one of those lazier days spent by the Keyblade Masters in companionable quietude. Gathered in the castle library in the Land of Departure, the High Master was reading a most excellent book she had borrowed from an outside source, while her student was quietly taking down notes beside her from a very large tome into a smaller notebook. Aqua was reading _A Brief History of Magickal Etymology_ , thoroughly absorbed in its content while Mel did her utmost to ignore Leo. He was lying awkwardly on his back – something he didn't usually do because the joints of his wings made it acutely uncomfortable – and kept making tiny little noises at the back of his throat, gazing first out the window and then longingly at his rider, tail wagging pathetically. Mel was too intent on her work, or at least trying to be – when Leo wasn't looking her gaze would flicker momentarily in his direction.

Aqua glanced up, dispelling the hair that had crept over her shoulders as she had bowed her head to read. She twirled a lock of blue around her fingers absently, pulling it out straight for inspection and wondering vaguely if she should get it cut. She kind of liked it this length, but she had yet to make her mind up on the issue. She knew Terra wasn't especially keen on it because when he tried to cuddle up with her at night he would sometimes end up accidentally inhaling it. Aqua had started tying it back to sleep, which helped a bit. He had pretended to make a big thing of it, and Ven had at first teased and then chastised him over it. The whole argument had ended with Terra shouting with sheer frustration, "It's just _hair_!"

Right now Terra was doodling opposite Aqua, drawing something vague in a sketchbook of carving ideas with his head in the clouds somewhere. And oddly enough Ventus was actually working hard, reading and memorising some sheet music while his fingers plucked at the strings of an imaginary lyre. With everyone's attention completely elsewhere, Aqua took a few moments to study them all.

Ven's hair seemed to be reflecting the sunlight streaming in through the open windows, and his mouth sketched the names of notes and chords soundlessly as his fingers worked the air, clear eyes dancing across the surface of the pages in front of him. Aqua turned to watch Terra when she saw his expression draw into a frown; he stared down the rough sketch he had just made, before scrubbing it out with a vengeance and bending over the paper to draw with much more attention focused to detail. He eventually sat back, brushing the page down and giving his work a critical eye as he ran a hand through his rather scruffy chocolate brown hair that was _definitely_ in need of a hair cut. The picture he was drawing looked like a long necked horse to Aqua from her vantage point, and Terra was too absorbed to notice her for the moment, so she turned to look at Mel and Leo.

Mel looked, as ever, the picture of tranquillity. Her expression was soft and calm, as were her tones when she spoke; her very green eyes darted back and forth from her writings to her source, and occasionally to Leo when the dragon wasn't looking. He was right now lying on his back, tilted sideways towards them with his wings brought down and close to his body to avoid the pressure of the weight of the rest of his body. With one wing all but pinned underneath his centre of gravity, it seemed a bit of a defeated objective. Leo's golden eyes caught Aqua's, and he wriggled appealingly like a puppy, thumping his tail on the floor and made another whine at the back of his throat.

Mel deliberately turned a page, and kept on taking notes.

Aqua smiled. _Nice try_ … Leo groaned and flopped backward dramatically, until it became too uncomfortable and he lurched forward onto his front, right into a patch of warm sunlight on the floor by the bed they had made for him from cushions and mattresses padded with blankets. Leo snorted and heaved himself up before dragging himself back into the shade, where he settled down and tucked all four paws under, wrapping his neck and tail around himself and rearranging his wings so that the only visible parts of his face were his amber eyes staring out of the mound of black and purple.

Turning, Aqua saw Terra and Ven watching as well while Mel kept studiously close attention to her notes. Terra smiled and shook his head; Ven rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. Aqua just looked down at her hands and turned aside so Leo couldn't see her biting her lip to keep from smiling.

Leo was making the sort of stand a teenager would, and despite he was just under a year old now, that's more or less what he was as far as his species was concerned. Some of what they knew about Keyblade Dragons had come from an old book they had found in the attic. It was ancient lore so obscure Master Eraqus and Master Yen Sid had never thought it relevant to teach them as students. Leo wanted to be more independent, more like a grown up – which was pretty difficult for him because his only role models were human; there weren't any other dragons for him to look up to and emulate.

There were other species of dragons, granted; generally with mail like scales and scalding breath that were usually quite belligerent and seldom domesticated or trained for anything, if at all. There were precious few cultures Aqua knew of where dragons lived and worked alongside humans; one such World was the Viking settlement of Berk, with whom they visited often and traded their time and skills with; the head of the Berk Dragon Training Academy had redesigned Leo's saddle, in exchange for a valuable metal ore Mel knew where and how to mine that made exquisite and durable jewellery – highly prised by Viking women and raked in the trade for Hiccup's mentor and Berk's master metal smith.

It couldn't be easy for Leo, but he was completely devoted to Mel, and she treated him tough but fair at worst, and smothered him with love and affection at best. She had to be his mother and strict at times, like now where she was ignoring his pleas for attention because he knew full well she was busy, and she wouldn't reward his bad behaviour with her attention. He pushed at those boundaries, but it was to be expected in one so young. His shoulder stood about a foot and a half above Terra's head now, and he was heavily built with lots of powerful muscles that could easily break bones if he threw his weight around. Mel had always raised him to be careful and mindful of others, and to know that if he wasn't careful he could easily end up seriously hurting someone.

After a while, Terra tossed his pencil aside and slid his sketchbook closed before he got up to go and start on dinner. Mel left her things where they were and silently got up to help, since it was her fault that they had a lot of food to process. Since her birthday in the spring she had obtained, among other things, a beautifully crafted bow and a quiver cast with a spell of holding to carry a great number of arrows at any given time.

While Terra and Mel were busy in the kitchen, Ven and Aqua brought the washing in from outside and carefully folded it neatly for redistribution. Everything was placed on the beds of the correct owners; Aqua hesitated as she lifted a stack of Terra's shirts and her own sashes, not knowing where to take them. She and Terra were engaged, and had been intending to move into a room together – the guest room down the hall from the Master's room, instead of the Master's room itself, which should have been Aqua's by right, the idea of which she was uncomfortable with. Mel had suggested the guest room instead, and some of their possessions had wound up there, but they hadn't really moved in fully. Sometimes they slept in Aqua's old room, and sometimes in Terra's, which had lead to a couple of the other older Keyblade Masters currently residing in Radiant Garden to pass around the sarcastic remarks that they were 'sleeping around', much to their combined chagrin.

Fingering the hem of one of the shirts, Aqua decided to take the laundry to the old guest room, but left it on the bed rather than try to file it away in the large chest of drawers in the corner. Ven must have noticed her detour, but he didn't say anything, and they walked to the kitchen in comfortable silence. He was prone to winding up Terra, but when he wasn't around Ven didn't pick fights with Aqua as much, for which she was grateful.

They arrived to find the kitchen permeated with delicious smells, and populated with more pots and pans than Aqua had initially thought they owned. Mel insisted that everyone start eating while she continued draining and decanting stock, and carefully started the process of making bone broth in another pot before she even thought about sitting down to eat. Leo curled himself into his usual corner and ate his share of the stew, along with larger chunks of various meats, and all topped off with a mammoth thighbone he spent the evening extracting the marrow from with great relish.

As the evening drew in a chill descended upon the mountains despite high summer, so they lit a small fire in the hearth of the common room. Aqua lay on her side on the couch reading her borrowed book while Terra and Ven held a Command Board tournament on the floor before the fireplace. Mel was hit with the sudden and inextricable urge to sew, and curled up by Leo's side to sort beads of various size and material into a pattern on a large piece of leather that would eventually be turned into a bag, far out of the firing line. It was doubtful Ven and Terra would ever lose that competitive and antagonistic streak of theirs; Aqua liked to think she was mature and had more self-control, but the pair of them had known her since childhood, and knew _exactly_ how to get under her skin and pull her in, dragging her down to their level. As such, Aqua declined to take part in their tournament, knowing full well how it would all end.

While Terra and Ven argued about the rules and flicked accusations of cheating at one another, Mel became more and more absorbed in her work. She was a speedy seamstress, but even so it was a laborious task to sew each individual bead to leather. After marking out with chalk and laying all the beads on another piece of fabric, Mel set the project aside after a couple of hours, and started on something else; by then Leo had fallen asleep and curled up in his unconsciousness. The finned end of his tail hid Mel mostly from view, and Aqua wasn't really paying attention until she went over to say good night while the boys were in the kitchen, arguing about each other's hands and how many joker cards there were meant to be in the deck. Aqua would not have noticed if Leo hadn't shifted in his sleep and moved Mel's things around with a twitch of his hind leg, dragging a pile of cloths over to uncover something she had been looking for all week.

Mel gave her best and most blank look when Aqua brandished the white fabric under her nose. Aqua gave her an unimpressed look with a quirked eyebrow and her best 'the Master is not amused' look.

"What?" Mel asked, like she had nothing to hide and not looking Aqua in the eye.

"Stop stealing my clothes." Aqua said firmly, patting Mel's head with the sash. "I was looking everywhere for this…"

"I only took the one," Mel said quietly in her defence, raising her hands in surrender and tilting her head down, looking away.

" _Again_." Aqua said, with a liberal dose of amusement.

Mel had pilfered one of the white sashes Aqua usually wore either side of her waist a few weeks back, and embroidered a beautiful stylised wolf in silver thread on it. This one in her hands now had an orca done in a similar style, again in silver thread.

After Mickey had brought Mel to them – about this time last year – she had slowly assimilated into their lives, giving at least as much as she was given in return, usually more. So comfortable with each other were they, that she had started giving things artistic makeovers unannounced and unasked for. Things like Aqua's clothing. There were also the stylised images she had made from coloured paper and card all over the kitchen cupboards, the cushions scattered around the common room, their bedrooms and Aqua's study, and blankets and quilts of various fabrics and wools dotted around on beds, couches and chairs of all kinds. Between her training and keeping Leo properly fed, Aqua didn't quite know how Mel managed to produce it all, but she did. Probably in the evenings when Aqua was reading or arguing with Ven and Terra.

Mel pulled a very mild expression and turned aside to fix the pile Leo had knocked over – and was promptly knocked over as he again shifted in his sleep, and trapped her in place with a forepaw before she was buried from sight by his wing as he snuggled inward into a ball, snoring contentedly.

"Okay in there?" Aqua asked, inspecting the orca more closely with open approval now that Mel couldn't see her.

"Yeah, you go on ahead. I'll be…up in a sec."

Aqua smiled to herself and left Mel to her own devices. She bade Ven goodnight, and Terra followed her upstairs soon after. Tonight they settled in his room, and she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, waking up late the following morning to find Terra turning the room upside down. She tossed the wayward clothes that had landed on her aside and gave Terra a quizzical look.

"Welcome back to reality." He said in a huff.

Aqua raised an eyebrow at his tone. "Good morning. Are you looking for something?"

"Yeah. My shirts? Didn't you do a load of laundry yesterday?"

"Oh, yeah…" Aqua rubbed the last remnants of sleep from her eyes as she sat up and slid out from under the covers. "They're up in the guest room."

It was Terra's turn to raise an eyebrow. He sat down beside her on the bed and asked, "Why up there?"

Aqua didn't speak for a moment, and in the silence Terra groaned and flopped on to his back on the bed. She shrugged and said slowly, "I don't know. But…maybe we should think about actually moving in together?" she turned to look at him. Terra had propped himself up on his elbows and was giving her a quizzical look. "I mean," she pulled a face and absently touched the delicate little silver ring on her left hand. "We _are_ engaged. Maybe we should settle more permanent sleeping arrangements?"

Terra groaned again, throwing his head back for a moment before he made a great show of heaving himself up. He got right in her face and said dully, "I'm sorry I'm not organised enough for you."

Aqua closed her eyes, stifling a giggle, and responded when she felt his lips on hers. They both look up at the door when they heard Leo's impatient roar from down the corridor – moments later they heard another door slam and Mel ran past calling, "I'm _coming_ , Leo, hold on-!"

They looked at each other, both stifling their laughter as Leo keened very loudly, and got up from the bed to prepare for the day ahead. It was a slightly less lazy day than yesterday, and they focused mostly on practising katas in the great hall before taking to the outdoors for some magic practise.

None of them had focused much on command styles in a long while now, and it was something that until recently had been completely foreign to Mel. Her command of magic was not the same as theirs; she was far more adept at energetics and subtle entities, and things like dowsing and card readings. Her control over elemental magic was sporadic at best, although her curative and protective spells were rather effective.

As such, when Aqua had first started teaching Mel how to perform command styles, they had hit a brick wall. It took a while for them to work around this block, but when they did they found that she was still working on a different plane to them in terms of magic. Ven, Terra and Aqua could perform the same basic forms, but each had their own niche that only they could perform. Oddly enough, Mel was not surprised to see for herself who commanded which element in terms of magic – and they in turn were not surprised to see how her command styles manifested when she finally figured out how to initiate them.

The first incorporated her Medicine, which she did not usually call upon in battle, which in turn was why it took a while to make the connection. Within the Shamanic tradition, 'Medicine' is merely something that makes you feel good and empowered (and could be described as either 'balanced' or 'unbalanced' depending on the context). Though each animal has many layers of symbolism and qualities to offer, each was assigned one Medicine in particular – Mel's personal Medicine was the Wolf: the Teacher. It was little surprise to anyone that when she first made the shift into a command style it was amid a pack of wolves made of light that danced around her, startling and distracting Terra enough that she actually managed to knock him to the ground despite her small stature. Each time the animals were different, though they were always one of her nine main power animals.

The other command style cloaked her in a nimbus of shifting light that always corresponded with the colours of the chakras, and made her look as though she were dancing through a misting rainbow. Again, the seven power points that followed the central column of the body and passed through the colours of the rainbow were not something Mel had usually thought about when fighting with Keyblade in hand, so making the connection had taken a while. She was incapable of performing any of the command styles Aqua or the others could, but in the wider scheme of things it didn't really matter.

After a good half an hour or so of non-stop sparring (Aqua calling on every spell she knew to initiate each form in turn – Mel gliding through a haze of different colours and energies, and ghosted by several racoons, followed by a lithe fox that blasted Aqua off her feet quite unexpectedly, much to Mel's amazement and dismay) the two women took a breather and sat on the ground leaning against Leo's side, hidden from the sun in his shadow while Ven and Terra chased each other around the practise area. They were trying to quench each other's particular element with their own, and were more focused on having fun than they were on actually working.

Aqua made a show of rolling her eyes, shaking her head, and then hanging it in a state of despair – Mel plucked some long stems of dried grass and started braiding them absentmindedly as she looked through the pair of them like they weren't there. She did that sometimes; you just had to wait for her mind to return from wherever it had wandered to this time before you could get any sense out of her. By the time Mel floated back to reality, she had twisted the braided grasses into a heart shape, which she secured with a hair grip from her pocket, just in time for Leo to decide that it was far too hot for him, and the three of them all got up.

While Leo trotted off to the stream to quench his thirst, Mel and Aqua decided to leave the boys to their own devices and go back up to the castle. After a quick wash and a change of clothes from training, they went to the music room and spent the rest of the afternoon playing together. Aqua played the violin, and Mel could play the piano, the flute, the guitar – and a few other instruments they didn't have at their disposal here, though she made do. They were merely harmonising with each other around a simple tune Aqua had made up years ago when Terra and Ven came back inside. Mel was trying out different keys at Master Eraqus' old piano while Aqua carefully retuned her violin – and then she noticed Ven's sun burn as he yelped from Leo's advances. He liked to lick cheeks and groom hair by way of a friendly greeting, and his rough tongue aggravated the man's smarting skin.

Ven sat at dinner, staring moodily at his food while Terra didn't try very hard to mask his amusement. Terra hardly ever got sun burnt. Instead, he simply tanned deeply, unlike Aqua. Her skin was so fair she had to be extra vigilant, and despite her best efforts she usually ended up with a red nose more than a few times every summer. This year, however, she had managed so far to avoid sunburn – possibly because Leo made a rather excellent sun umbrella.

Watching meditatively from across the table, while Mel was liberally smearing a sort of gel mixture of lavender and aloe vera on Ven's sunburn, Aqua reflected that Terra was quite handsome – especially at this time of year. He caught her in her daze, looking up in response to her gaze, smiling at first but then smirking at her probably dreamy expression. Aqua rolled her eyes and looked away, wanting to scowl but smiling anyway, and caught a glimpse of Terra's expression as he turned aside and got up to check on the water boiling on the hob.

"Ow!" Ven whined, trying to wriggle out of Mel's reach. She stood there by his chair as he tried to lean back as far as he could without falling off the seat, her hands in the air covered in her sunburn solution and looking for her quite exasperated. "It's hurts!"

"Then let me put this on the burn and it won't hurt tomorrow." She spoke gently and patiently.

Ven sat up straighter in his chair, and continued to grimace though he didn't pull away. He scowled fiercely at Terra's snigger, and when he continued to not so subtly tease Ven while Mel was washing her hands in the sink, she flicked her wet hands at him so the droplets caught him in the face. Terra made as though to rush her, and she stepped back lithely into a ready stance, arms raised in anticipation.

"I'll set Leo on you."

In answer, Leo gave a soft bark from his accustomed corner of the kitchen, and his tail thrashed in the available space, knocking against a table leg and upsetting the cutlery and bowls stacked on the polished wood. Terra let it drop, but he couldn't stop himself sniggering as supper progressed. Mel and Aqua exchanged glances before looking away, pretending to be absorbed in their own thoughts. They would have to try and separate the boys tonight, or they could have a real row on their hands.

XOXOX

The island of Berk jutted up out of the restless sea, defiant of the cold, bleak and wind swept clime. As Leo made his descent they were met in midair by a local dragon, and together they dived towards the land and alighted in the town square. Astrid was especially happy to see them – and gave Mel a warm and very genuine hug, but she knew what the Viking youth was after. While Stormfly, Astrid's blue Deadly Nadder, greeted Leo affectionately by fluffing her wings and delicately nibbling at his jowl, Mel handed over the thing Astrid had been waiting for. Vikings prided themselves on their prowess in battle, and every good blade needed a quality whetstone to keep it in top condition. As long as Mel didn't say directly that they came from a distant place in a completely different World, she wasn't technically breaking the rules of World Order.

"Oh, _thanks_ Mel!" Astrid gave her another great big hug.

"You're welcome. And thank _you_ for getting the leather for Leo's saddle,"

"Oh, it was nothing," she said a little flippantly, brushing the hair out of her eyes and giving Mel an amused look. "You should go find Hiccup. He's _dying_ to know what you think of all those adjustments he's been making." She hefted her second best axe over her shoulder and gave them all a small wave. "C'mon, Stormfly!" the Nadder cocked her head in Astrid's direction before she followed, responding to Leo's call over her shoulder as she went.

"To the forge!" Ven said, brandishing his right hand and blazing the trail up the steep slope on which the village was built.

They were there today to do some trade – Mel owed Hiccup and Gobber a debt for the time and resources that had gone into Leo's newest saddle, and she owed the young dragon trainer a full report on its durability and functionality for his notes. Aqua had as ever reluctantly allowed just the three of them to go, not that Mel could hold it against her… It had after all been on the return journey from Berk that Maleficent had managed to capture Leo.

The Scions Bahamut and Leviathan – in the current form of two heavy summoning crystals – were in their pockets, and both of them had an eye and an ear each on constant guard, _just_ in case. Leo also kept his nose on guard, scenting the air for any trace of Heartless or other monsters lurking in the background.

Mel wanted to say she felt confident since the last time they had seen Pete skulking around the periphery Leo had pounced and roared so loudly he had scuttled away into a dark portal too quickly to really see properly, but…

Like Aqua said: better safe than sorry.

Hiccup was as always pleased to see them, as was Hiccup's dragon. As they talked outside the forge, the only known Keyblade Dragon played around with the only known Night Fury. Toothless bounced around Leo's feet and danced over his tail as it was swung hard at him; he then lithely stepped onto Leo's tail and ran up along his back before standing his hind legs on Leo's shoulders and placing his front legs just behind Leo's head. Leo kept his long neck out straight at an unusual but nonetheless comfortable angle, and opened his jaw wide to let the warbling, grating sounds out while Toothless did something similar with his own voice. It sounded almost like they were singing a duet together; a couple of Terrible Terrors sitting on a nearby rooftop joined in and a Viking came outside and shook his fist.

The three of them turned to watch for a moment with a smile each, before they returned to the topic at hand.

"How's the saddle?" Hiccup asked expectantly with no more preambles.

Mel put her hands together and looked up at the youth over her fingertips. "It's _perfect_."

It really was. The wooden segments were shaped just so and hinged and padded so that it would allow for Leo's spine to flex as he ran and flew. More people could be comfortably accommodated on the saddle because it was longer, and nifty little hand holds and straps were tucked away in strategic places so that you could hang on securely if Leo pulled any stunts or performed more drastic manoeuvres. The hand holds also served another very important function: thick, durable rope could be cunningly woven through and around them to hold saddle bags in place, or lash larger objects to the saddle for transport. It had been a godsend on the odd occasion where Mel had managed to fell a rather large deer that needed to be transported home before she could begin working on it. Most importantly, the problems with the straps that held the saddle in place on his back had been rectified; buckles and clips held fast, and didn't give way for people to get arms and legs tangled up in them.

"Great!" Hiccup spread his arms wide in delight before clapping his hands together and all but dragging her inside to get her to tell him just exactly _what_ was perfect and what could potentially still be improved upon. He was a perfectionist in his work, and was always making adjustments and improving things, and often venturing into new territories that required a lot of trial and error. Like Leo, Toothless had a pair of fins at the end of his tail that helped in steering and stabilising his flight, though these were comprised of thin, delicate spines covered in a thin membranous skin, whereas Leo's were thick rod like protrusions from which grew flight feathers. One of Toothless' fins was damaged, so through an awful lot of trial and error Hiccup had built Toothless a new tail fin, connected to an ingenious mechanism that was then controlled by the rider, so the pair could fly together.

By the time Mel had finished, Ven was dancing around outside the forge with a few of the village's children, playing with a pack of Terrible Terrors. These were the smallest species of the Berk dragons, about maybe the size of an iguana when they were fully grown, with big eyes, limited fire range, and possibly one of the loudest voices comparative to their body size. A little girl with blonde pigtails and a horned helmet was holding Ven's hands and teaching him a Viking dance while the others laughed and sang a nursery rhyme, the Terrors squeaking and warbling along in practised tune, sending all the adults within range scurrying away with their hands over their ears. Leo was curled up in a patch of sun, cooled by the brisk wind coming straight in off the sea, with Toothless curled up on his back – both oblivious to the world for the moment.

The rest of that day they all helped out with chores around the village. Gobber had a lot of demands on his time and skills; he also taught the youngsters about dragons and weapons craft, as well as making all sorts of weapons, tools and equipment for the village. He was also the chief's oldest friend and closest advisor; the man had a lot on his plate at any given time. Whenever Mel couldn't give him metal ores, tough leather or any more whetstones (he was up to his beard as it was by this point) she instead traded her own time and skills. Berk didn't have a currency so to speak; coins did exchange hands but mostly with people from neighbouring islands and the odd traveller like Trader Johan, and Stoick didn't command taxes of his people. Instead they were all expected to contribute a portion of any food they harvested or reared to the village stores for the season they referred to as 'Devastating Winter'. With no money to tax or trade with, time and skills were highly prized, and Mel had plenty of them to go around.

While Leo careened around the eastern face of the island with Fishlegs and his dragon Meatlug, herding sheep while they saw off wild boars and kept the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut out of the paddocks where they were trying to tip yaks, Ven helped break up the earth in a field ready for sowing crops as Mel stalked a couple of deer with some other hunters. Her competence with a bow had gone up with all the practise she had been getting in recently, and she rarely missed these days; if she could get close enough without being detected, she could kill with one shot. Once the deer had been hauled back to the village Mel went to help with some fishing. Gobber had said he would help fix the man's boat, but he hadn't had the chance yet, so instead Mel helped him with his quota for the day. Most of the fishing happened at sea, so the fish in the lakes and mountain streams weren't too shy about humans. Dragons definitely, but Mel was surprised by how easy it was for her to walk up to a fish resting on the river bed, and pluck it from the water without having to be too precise about timing.

Mel also noticed a collection of plants and herbs that had useful medicinal properties and made wonderful teas, so she dug up a spare handful of each from different places along the way as she trekked back with her catch of fish (tied to a long cord by their tails and slung over her shoulder). The plants went straight to the village elder and shaman, a very small, mute woman named Gothi who then proceeded to drag Mel all over the village until well into the afternoon administering medicines and attending the scene of many an accident. Ven found her just as they were wrapping up the last casualty of the day, and he tried not to snigger _too_ loudly when he saw Snotlout waving his free arm in the air and shouting at no one in particular about his disobedient dragon. There were six young Vikings in total that made up the vanguard of the Academy, and of them all Snotlout was the one Ven got on with the least. He was certainly brave and had heart, and gave his everything in the defence of his home – but he was fairly arrogant and not especially smart, and he liked making arguments and picking fights for no real reason other than for the sake of it.

Right now, Hookfang the Monstrous Nightmare was capering about willy-nilly, only sitting up to pay attention after Gobber had grabbed him by the jaw and slammed his head into the ground. It looked quite brutal, but dragon skulls were thick, and it was hard to do any real damage to them with you bare hands. Hookfang rarely responded to anyone unless they could exert a measure of dominance, and apparently, Monstrous Nightmares liked it; it had some sort of calming effect, a little bit like holding a shark upside down. Leo avoided him like the plague because this particular breed could set themselves on fire at will, and his feathers weren't impervious to flames. Snotlout knew that, and a few times when they had taken part in a joint training exercise he had not actively discouraged his dragon from flaming up right next to the feathered dragon mid-flight.

"What happened this time?" Ven asked, helping Mel to pack everything away neatly as Snotlout stomped across the square, yelling for his absent dragon after he had shoved his way through the crowd.

"I think Hookfang hit him with his tail and he landed on that fence. A loose nail got him on the arm," she demonstrated on her own arm with a vague gesture. "He's fine." She was about to ask after Ven's day, but Leo bounded into their midst and knocked her over with his enthusiasm. He crowed and barked and ended by pinning her to the ground with his head resting on her torso, banging his tail against the ground like a happy puppy wagging its tail. Ven did try to move him, but it was something of a lost cause – he was just too big and heavy, and had his own mind…

Leo decided to get up suddenly when Toothless bounced past, and they chased each other around the square. While they did this, Stoick came over to talk to them about the village's fortifications against the Heartless. They were as good as they could be, and the chief was aware of the potential short comings, but they seemed happy with the figures so far; no sightings in little over two months now. And no sightings of those creatures whose energy was so warped it made her skin crawl.

Stoick was just trying to convince them to stay for the evening and partake of their feast in the great hall, and then probably for the night too, when a ruckus broke out over the usual low level clamour of the Viking settlement. Another breed of dragon – far less easy to train – was zipping by at an alarming rate, and several people yelled for Hiccup. Mel found Whispering Deaths fascinating; the way they undulated, even while hovering in midair, the constant corkscrew movement of their long sinuous bodies, lacking any limbs but their wings, and the arrangement of their jaws. She wondered what Lynn would think of them, what she would make of these bizarre creatures. They had been pouring over a book detailing most of the known species in the Dragon family across the Worlds – and there was no mention of any of the Berk dragons in there. Lynn kept threatening to come visit and take readings to determine which lineage they belonged to, but she had a few too many demands on her time back in Radiant Garden. Mel had thought about bringing back some samples or pictures, or _something_ for the Nobody to look at, but every time the thought occurred – like now, for example – something would happen. Something was broken, or on fire, or (as in this case) down a deep hole in the ground.

Whispering Deaths liked to tunnel through earth and stone with their odd jaws, which they were doing now. Leo yelped and danced sideways, swinging his front quarters around as he balanced on his back legs to avoid the shifting earth that heralded the underground passage of a Whispering Death. Stormfly was perched on his back fanning her wings with Toothless under his feet snarling defensively at the raised lined of shifting earth.

"I got this," Hiccup said confidently to his father before he pelted across the square yelling over his shoulder, "It's under control! _Toothless-!_ "

"We shoulder probably get going," Ven said into Mel's ear so she could hear him over all the noise. Mel nodded, thinking about how Aqua would feel if they got back after dark.

They thanked Stoick, asked for their farewells and good wishes to be passed on to the others, and they set off for home. Leo often left Berk with a certain measure of reluctance, and he flew to a safe distance away from the island before they dropped into the Lanes Between without any exuberance. Berk was one of the few places he could exercise his full strength in play, because there were other dragons around about his size that weren't especially delicate that could take the full force of his weight. Even the smaller species were quite robust; Gronckles like Meatlug were rather short and very compact, but extremely robust.

Dusk was just starting to fall as they landed in the courtyard in front of the castle. The armour that protected them in the Lanes Between was banished in a glow of soft white light, and Leo stretched his neck and shook himself down before he mounted the stairs and pushed the doors open with his nose to let himself in. They disembarked inside the atrium and removed the saddle, placing it on a special rack Mel and Terra had created and mounted on the wall for the purpose.

And speaking of Terra, he was coming down the stairs to meet them just as they finished putting the saddle away. Leo looked up and croaked a greeting, pressing his muzzle against Terra's hand as he raised it to pat him.

"I thought you guys might be spending the night in Berk," Terra said, running a hand through his hair. Mel detected a jittery quality to his energy – he was planning something.

"We didn't want to worry Aqua, so we didn't stay." Mel explained, scratching Leo's jaw when he swung his head back towards her.

"That and a Whispering Death was on the rampage," Ven laughed. "We figured we'd get out of everyone's hair."

"Right, right…" Ven and Mel exchanged looks before turning back to Terra and waiting. He eventually managed to work out exactly what he wanted to say – probably after a lot of inward debate – and said rather delicately, "We kinda have plans this evening. You know, just the two of us, and…"

"And you want us out of your hair, right?" Ven asked, kicking on his back leg and folding his arms behind his head with a smile.

"Right! Err, I mean-"

"We can occupy ourselves," Mel said, leading Leo by the head towards the stairs.

"Just stay inside!" Terra asked, a pleading note in his voice.

Ven smirked and started making kissing noises in Terra's direction. _Much_ to his chagrin. Leo drew his lips back in a snarl, rumbling deeply in his chest and swung his tail before Mel could stop him, and clipped Ven round the back of the head.

"Ouch!" he jerked forward and instinctively ducked to avoid the recoil, rubbing the back of his smarting head,

"Leo…what did we talk about?" Mel said quietly, arms folded with a hand pressed against her forehead.

Leo snorted hard and glowered at Ven, who scowled back before stalking off ahead of them towards the kitchen. Mel shifted her weight and withdrew her hand before she gave Leo a long-suffering look that he did his best with all good conscience to ignore.

"I'll keep an eye on them both." Mel assured Terra as the dragon stalked off after Ven with stiff shoulders; Terra gave her a grateful look before he disappeared in a great hurry.

The pair of them dined on a quick stir-fry, and Leo on a haunch of venison with assorted raw vegetables with a bowl of apples and pears for dessert. Ven found a stash of chocolate bars in the kitchen that Mel was fairly certain belonged to Aqua, but she accepted half of one anyway with Ven, with the intention of replacing it later, and they retired to the common room. Leo curled up in his accustomed corner and fell into a doze while Mel laid out a selection of bone and amber beads over a loose shirt of soft buckskin. Ven pulled out his lyre and settled himself in the armchair by the hearth and started idly plucking at chords until he was thoroughly absorbed in what he was doing.

With her cousin's journal, Mel had been able to figure out how to return to some of the Worlds she had visited in her eleven years away from home. A lot of people had been hostile towards her in that time, but many had been very welcoming, and she was starting to establish trade with some of those people. This project she was working on was a commission for someone's grandson who was getting mated at the end of the summer. The society in question was somewhat primitive, they had some metal tools but many still used flint blades; Mel knew the patterns used by both families concerned in this matrimonial ceremony well enough, and she was working on that while keeping the grandmother's insistence that she also add her own distinctive artistic flare to the design in mind.

The basic pattern had been set out already, it needed embellishing… Mel took from one of her pouches a deck of cards, shuffled through them while watching Ven play, and picked one at random, laying it face down on the floor to the right of the shirt. She shuffled through again, picking another card and laying it to the left, and then again, placing it at the neck line. She put the rest of the cards away and stared hard at the shirt, thinking of the materials she had to hand. She had porcupine quills, assorted feathers, seashells and the teeth of rabbits, hares, and deer; beads of various materials, and a lot of amber – which was held sacred to these people, and which she had been able to obtain from a great many different sources…

Mel flicked the cards over in the order in which she had drawn them, and stared at them for a long while. Bear, Otter, and Eagle.

She could work with this.

It had to be approaching midnight when Ven knelt beside her, and she looked up with a blink. Leo was fast asleep, it was pitch black outside, and the fire had burned very low. The three animals were only barely visible in vague shapes and the basic outline, nowhere near finished yet.

"Bed time," Ven said, grabbing her under the arms and hauling her to her feet. "It'll still be here in the morning."

They stared at each other for a long moment, and then Mel looked away in defeat. "Fine then…"

Ven grinned and gave her a nudge towards the door. He had learnt that if she was left alone to 'pack up' she would just continue working, and it had been a long day. He was quite good at protecting her from herself when she didn't look after her own needs.

Along the dormitory hall they bade each other goodnight and turned in for the evening. Mel slung her satchel onto the floor by the foot of her bed and dressed for sleep. She paused before dumping her clothes into the laundry basket by the door and looked around her room. There was a cupboard in the corner, and a small chest of drawers; in the diagonally opposite corner there was a desk littered with papers and little boxes and bottles of beads and various other decorative pieces. Slung over the back of the chair was a pile of leather and animal skins. One wall was entirely plastered with sketches and paintings she had made over the course of time. Propped against the side of the wardrobe was the guitar they had given her for her birthday in the spring; it was beautiful, inlaid with a design of three mother-of-pearl dragonflies around the sound hole, and made of a warm honey coloured wood. Mel smiled at the instrument she had been given, and the thought of the friends who had given it to her. It would be Ven's birthday in a couple of weeks, and she couldn't wait to give him the present she had found for him.

Mel undid the braids in her hair, carefully collecting all the trimmings into another box that lived on top of the chest of drawers, and ran a bush through it carefully before she got into bed. She had to get up again when she remembered she had to take her earrings out; one of them she had made with a lot of coiled wire, holding Leo's egg tooth in place with a black and purple flight feather hanging underneath, with a couple of carved beads here and there on a braided piece of leather. It was placed very carefully on a metal screen with lots of holes in it for the purpose of storing earrings, along with the small studs she had been wearing that day, and then she jumped into bed again.

There was a shelf on the wall above the bed, where a few more precious objects were stowed. There was a floppy, stuffed dog that she had acquired on her journey that had been her security blanket for many years, and beside that there now stood a cuddly stuffed owl with a black and yellow scarf wound around it's neck with an envelope propped behind it. It had been Ven's way of giving her a birthday card – the letter told her about how the owl with her Hogwarts letter had gone missing, with much apology for making her miss the drop off year, before wishing her a very happy birthday regardless. He had gone to great pains to make sure it was on very parchment, written in green ink, and she appreciated the time and creativity that had gone into it. Next to the owl were two photo frames Terra had carved for her; the first carefully engraved with delicate leaves, and had a photo of her, her brother Kyo and their cousin Tom taken a few weeks ago. Kyo had tried to hug both of them, but Tom wasn't really one for hugs, so he was smothering Mel instead while Tom stood a little apart from them, his smile small but genuine. The second showed Terra and Aqua, and Mel and Ven standing either side of Leo's head (since his body was far too big to fit into the picture with them all). Terra had an arm around Aqua, and she was leaning her head on his shoulder, while Ven and Mel were hugging Leo's neck and muzzle respectively; everyone was beaming, and the wood of the frame had been carefully worked to look like fish scales.

Mel pulled the sunset coloured blanket over herself before she shuffled around into a comfortable position on her right side, facing the wall. She thought about the guitar, the owl and those photos – thought about her life now. It wasn't easy; keeping Leo well fed was quite demanding, and keeping up with the trade of the products from her kills on top of her continued training was difficult at times. But despite that, she knew exactly where her brother and cousin were and that they were safe and looked after. And she was surrounded by people who accepted her as she was, who loved and supported her. And she had Leo.

What more could she ask for?

Before she fell asleep, Mel fiddled with something on a long, delicate chain around her neck. She wore two necklaces: one had a pendant of a baying wolf that sat just below her collarbone, and on the other hung two rings that usually remained tucked under her clothes. One was plain and made of gold; the other of silver, with an amethyst surrounded by a trio of diamonds. Tom had been carrying them with him all the years he had been searching for her, buried deep in his rucksack. They had been her mother's rings, and she had wanted her daughter to have them.

Mel brought the engagement ring to her lips, thinking of her mother, before she relaxed into the mattress and let sleep claim her. Some things about her old life she still missed deeply, but for everything that she had gained, she was truly grateful.

She slid into a deep sleep that she only half remembered when she awoke the following morning, to a loud banging on her door and Ven's enthusiastic voice telling her there was bacon. Mel would reach sleepily for the diary under her bed and a pencil; eyes still closed, and write down what she could before the full light of day made her forget.

XOXOX


	2. Breaking Apart

**AN: thank you so much to** piyo-nii **and** faithful2kh **for your reviews! :D**

 **This chapter came slowly at first and then all at once, so apologies if the beginning drags a bit, and I hope the next chapter won't be quite so long in the making, though I am working on a couple of other writing projects at the moment for another fandom that may or may not get posted at this point so please bear with while I get myself organised ;)**

 **Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated so I can improve my writing!**

 _ **Breaking Apart**_

The sun was shining bright and clear over Radiant Garden, bathing the city in a warm haze that glittered off the water from her many pools and fountains. The peace was shattered intermittently by what turned out to be a drum kit – with Lynn at the helm. Leo wasn't helping matters; he paced back and forth restlessly before trotting up to Aqua or Terra and begging for attention, knocking them over in his enthusiasm. They were waiting for Mel and Ven to get back from a hunt in the surrounding countryside, and Leon had wanted the dragon to come and help tear down an old warehouse, but it was taking a while to organise a team to clear up afterward. This meant Leo was left waiting with little to do besides be a pest.

After being tipped onto his back for the third time Terra braced himself with one arm and gave Leo a smack on the nose with the other. Leo snorted and shook his head, gave Terra a filthy look, and stalked off to the other side of the square with a hiss. Lynn smiled with much sympathy and tossed the drumsticks over her shoulders with a loud clatter so she could reach up with both arms and give him a hug. Leo was so happy to have some compassion that he leant down and rubbed his face against her body, knocking both her and the drum kit over, creating even more noise if it were at all possible.

"Organised chaos, as usual." Someone said brightly, and Aqua turned to look at the Mage with a grin.

"Rose!"

"Sorry I'm a bit late." She reached forward to embrace Aqua before taking a step back to look at her. "Some last minute paper work made it onto my desk. I have those books you asked for," she added, reaching into her satchel.

Rosie Kingfisher was a Mage with the Ladonier Guild; a good friend of Master Evalyn, and consequently of Lynn; and the best cake baker Aqua knew. They found a place on a low wall to sit and chat while Leo continued to bounce around and everyone else continued to either humour him or scowl in his general direction. Rosie handed over a stack of heavy books she had checked out of the Guild library, and Aqua in turn gave her a Tupperware box of brownies she had made the other day. She opened it and sniffed the rich smells of chocolate and honey with relish before offering one to Aqua and taking one for herself. They sat and talked idly for a bit; Rhiannon floated past, digging into the box as she went by, and soon she and Lynn were arguing loudly with each other. Terra scoffed and rolled his eyes, but got dragged into the fight anyway; Leo flicked his ears back and shied away before he pivoted on his hind legs and trotted back to Aqua quickly, his nostrils flaring as he caught the scent of chocolate.

"Hello you," Rosie reached up without hesitation and stroked Leo's nose.

The young dragon widened his eyes, kept his lips pressed firmly together, and tried to keep his wagging tail from crashing into anything. Usually, he was all over the people he loved, banging his tail against every available surface and grinning wolfishly, flashing his three pairs of canines. He liked Rosie very much, because she had helped look after him and his friends when they were injured at different times for various reasons – and she was terrified of dragons, as a rule, after she had been attacked as a child. As a result, he was exceptionally gentle and mindful of his behaviour around the Mage. He was gratified today with a hug and a couple of brownies, even though he had had quite a few at home already. Aqua and Mel had as yet to figure out how to completely dragon-proof the pantry…

"His new coat is coming in nicely," Rosie commented as Leo scraped at the cobblestones next to them with his thick claws, before he settled down and curled up like a cat for a doze, arranging his wings to keep the sun off his face.

"Yes, his beard is going to be quite magnificent." Aqua said with a laugh.

Ven couldn't grow a beard; he had tried, and it was very sparse and scraggly, so he was committed to remaining clean-shaven. Terra _could_ grow a beard, but he preferred not to. However, he liked to proclaim rather loudly that Ventus would never be as good a Keyblade Master as he, because he would never have as fine a beard as the Master had had. Aqua and Mel had committed themselves to not meeting each other's eyes and leaving the room at the first possible chance whenever the topic came up. Ven probably deserved the ritual humiliation of being laughed at, but neither of the women could bring themselves to inflict it upon him.

As for Leo – after the spring moult, and after a week or so where the great lump had lain almost completely comatose, his feathers had grown both in shape and colour; the purple that crested his lower jaw was now deeper, and the finer feathers of his neck had taken on the same shade from the uniform black it had been, as well as splashes of colour along his spine. The black had also deepened into a richer array of raven hues. He was quite a magnificent beast to behold, and Mel's pride and joy.

Rosie looked at Aqua curiously, but the Master shook her head, so she turned aside to pet her Staffordshire bull terrier on the head without comment. Rosie had four brothers and no sisters; she knew what Aqua suffered. Baldrick watched the proceedings silently as he always did, from Rosie's knee; he never gave Leo any thought (the dragon might as well not exist to him) and while in the past Leo had been surprisingly skittish around him, he now gave just as much notice to the terrier, except for the odd glower every now and then for being ignored so thoroughly.

"Aha!"

Both women looked up as Mel approached them, smiling brightly. Ven was hard on her heels, a brace of rabbits and wood pigeons slung carelessly across his shoulders, tied together by their feet with thick cordage.

"I have something for you, but I left it at HQ."

"That's all right, I'm in no rush today. I hear Leo's on demolition duty today?"

Leo had sat up when he smelt Mel coming, and would have bounced to his feet and flattened her but for Rosie's poor nerves, so he contented himself with watching her every move intently, the very end of his tail tapping the ground rhythmically.

"Yes, I'll go find Leon and I'll bring it with me when we come back."

"We might be on _Flaire_ by then,"

"Okay,"

"See ya later!" Ven waved merrily, arrayed as he was with dead animals over his shoulder, making Aqua pull a face at the thought. He had become Mel's unofficial helper, and while it wasn't difficult to think of Mel, with her extensive knowledge and experience in bush craft and shamanic lore, up to her elbows in blood and guts, it was a bit harder for Aqua to pin Ventus with that image too. For all his exuberance, she could still see the gentle boy she had first beheld, all those years ago; now he was a strong, confident young man, full of boundless energy and immeasurable kindness.

Leo heaved himself to his feet and waited for Ven and Mel to reach him, and then together they turned and left the square, Leo looking over his shoulder chirruping to Aqua while ignoring Terra completely, who shook his fist uselessly at the dragon's retreating back.

Leaving Rhiannon and Lynn to sort out their differences with a fencing match (brandishing drum sticks at each other with much flourishing, and at one point the older Master tried to throw a symbol at her old friend) Aqua and Rosie got up too and left for her ship, Terra tagging along after Lynn chased Rhiannon off, threatening to put her head through the snare drum. _Flaire_ was a small gummi ship that had been charmed with a spell of holding so that it was more like a large and comfortably sized caravan on the inside. The walls were littered with shelves covered in books, little ornaments and pieces of artworks; there was even a set of trellises made from old market boxes and pieces of timber in which sat a collection of potted plants on the left wall. Rosie walked to this after having first filled the kettle and picked a few leaves from a variety of different plants, and put them in a large teapot that appeared to have been painted by hand.

Aqua asked about it as Terra strode over to the large and comfortable wicker chair by the new coffee table, which was made of carved wood with the semblances of little mice running up and down the legs. Rosie was explaining that her godson had painted the pot for her, and she tried not to smile when Baldrick beat Terra to the chair and sat down on the cushions before looking rather deliberately up at the man. Aqua suppressed a giggle, and they went on talking about the teapot like nothing had happened, and he shot the pair of them an annoyed look.

"Yes, Luke was very pleased with the way it came out. See here?" Rosie lifted the teapot to show Aqua. "I took him up to a museum in the capital to see an exhibit about ice age art. I must say, his cave painting skills are quite good considering he was working with modern day ceramic paints,"

Aqua smiled and gave the teapot a closer look. The base colour was a mottled combination of brown and yellow, and overlaid on that was the impression of a faded mural of horses. In addition, on either side of the main body of the pot were the handprints of the young boy in a deep ochre colour, with a series of black lines and dots drawn with fingers, rather than brushes like the horses.

"He's really good," Aqua commented, having seen real cave paintings both old and very recent for herself, and having been exposed to Mel's experience in such matters, she knew craftsmanship when she saw it.

"He may have had a reference," Rosie smiled, patting another thick book on the countertop that was set into a central column in the middle of the room. "I thought Mel might like to have a look at this." It was a book that had been written specifically for the exhibition, and Aqua flicked through it while Rose made them all some tea, intrigued by the ancient cultures of Rosie's home continent. Terra wondered over after rattling his way through the shelves, giving the terrier a hard look.

They all looked up when someone shouted a greeting from the doorway, and smiled when they saw Sora leaning into the ship.

"Wassup?" Terra grinned, walking forward to greet him.

"Leon wants you to come help move some stuff that Leo just tore down," Sora waved at Aqua, and she raised a hand in return, smiling at him. He reminded her a lot of Ven, what with that great big grin of his; he raised a hand and ran it through his unruly dark hair that looked in need of a trim.

"Sure thing," Terra said, stepping out of the ship around him. "Hey Riku,"

"Hi!" Riku walked by, waving to the women in the ship. "We'll see you in a bit!"

They went off together, leaving Kairi and their friend from home with them. Leah wasn't quite used to travelling between Worlds, but she had adjusted remarkably well all things considered. Her first sojourn out of her own World had been inside Maleficent's castle; it was all still new to her. Kairi took Aqua aside and asked her about an advanced and tricky spell she was trying to practise; Leah made a beeline for Rosie and handed back a book she had borrowed, called _The Silmarillion_. She was an avid reader of fiction, and especially loved sci-fi and fantasy – while Kairi and Aqua worked their way through the theory of the disillusionment spell, the other two chatted about Tolkien, and Rosie went to go dig through a crate of things under her desk before coming back with a box. Leah handled it with reverence; carefully digging through the collection of discs inside and looking up at the woman with wide eyes when she was told she could borrow the audio books, on the understanding that they did not leave her room once she got them home so as to preserve the World Order.

The rest of the day passed pleasantly enough; after the boys had finished helping to clear away to wreckage of the building Leo had torn down, Aqua sat the Masters-in-training down and they had a theory lesson while the 'real' Masters sat around relaxing. Or in Lynn and Rhiannon's case, tormenting Rosie. Lynn grabbed the Mage and danced what could _possibly_ have been meant to be a waltz while singing _Once Upon A Dream_ at the tops of her lungs, disrupting Aqua's lesson and making Leah jump out of her skin and drop the book she had been reading in alarm when Leo pounced at the Nobody. The dragon then nudged an ashen faced Rose away from the proceedings, and she sat next to Aqua quietly for the rest of the afternoon while Leo gave Lynn a series of hard looks. Mel listened to Aqua conscientiously, but her attention was half on Leo, and mostly exasperated at that.

"There's no end to this," she said dully to Ven as they sat side by side on a crate, watching Leo creep up behind Lynn and then sit back on his haunches with a flinch when the Nobody bopped him on the nose in retaliation. "Is there?" Leo snapped his jaws and snarled, before buffeting Lynn with a paw and hissing at her sullenly. Rosie was looking pointedly in the opposite direction, still very pale; Aqua and Terra had hung their heads in defeat and said nothing.

"Nope." Ven said brightly, giving her an affectionate nudge.

Leo spat at Rhiannon and stalked to Mel's side, and she gave him a neutral response to let him know she had had enough now. Leo got the message and sat down a little distance away, curling up like a cat and watching them all through half closed eyes in the shade. Mel sighed heavily, eyes closed and pressing the first two fingers of her left hand against her forehead. Ven laughed, shaking his head, and reached for a water canister.

Rosie shrieked suddenly, and Aqua spun round ready to summon her Keyblade – only to find the source of her distress was Lynn, hanging darkly over her shoulder.

"What the _feck_ is this?" she demanded rudely of the Mage.

Already on edge from Leo's threatening displays, Rosie was still shaking from the unexpected whack she had taken to the back of her head. "What-?"

" _This_ , Rose. _This_!" Lynn spat, thrusting a thin box into the Mage's face.

Aqua blinked, as did Rosie, who took the thing from her friend with a look of bewilderment. "It's a DVD case." She said simply in so many syllables.

"Look at this face," Lynn snarled, pointing. "And know that I am _judging you_." She turned and spun away, stalking to Rhiannon's side. The older Master was sniggering to herself, and quite enjoying Lynn's wrath, not even retaliating when she took a smack to the shoulder – it was too entertaining, apparently.

"Wait…" Aqua frowned, taking a closer look at the box and a familiar looking object on the cover. "Is that…the alethiometer?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes," Rosie suddenly laughed and handed it over for inspection. "It's the film adaptation of _Northern Lights_. It's not bad, as films go. Just…well, as an adaptation, it wasn't particularly good. Though it could have been a lot worse…" she shrugged, pulling a face and gesturing vaguely with one hand.

" _The Golden Compass_?" she asked, looking quizzically at the Mage.

"Please don't ask. You'll only encourage her…" Rosie sighed deeply, rubbing her temples as Lynn blew a raspberry at her.

"That's what I think of you and your stupid DVD!"

Aqua laughed, and they chatted for a while as people came and went about the pros and cons of film and play adaptations of novels, citing various examples of both they had come across. Sora and Riku became involved in a sparring match, which turned into a tournament when Ven and Terra got involved. Kairi was itching to join in, but she didn't want to leave Leah out, so she sat beside her friend yelling encouragements while Leah tried to read the new book Rosie had leant her. It was a story about little dragon statues that came to life, an old favourite of Rosie's, and she kept looking up at Leo every so often with a smile whenever the noise levels became too distracting; every so often he would catch her eye and raise his head from the ground, humming at her and bouncing the very end of his tail against the flagstones. Lynn's spirits improved, and she swept around the square calling to the combatants and ranting to Aqua about Rosie's lack of respect for literary integrity. This culminated with the pair of them standing close together and bickering heatedly while Aqua sat back and watched with amusement. She was such a sweet and steady woman, but even Rosie had her limits – and Lynn was very good at stretching them.

"I give up!" Rosie said eventually, throwing her hands into the air.

"Because you know I'm right!" Lynn shook a fist at her as the Mage walked away, hands in the air in a gesture of surrender.

"I am done with this conversation."

"Yeah Rosé, walk away, cause you know I'm right!"

" _Done_." Rosie said loudly, mounting the steps up to the door of her ship and disappearing inside, Baldrick trotting at her heels.

" _Ohh_ , walk away-" Lynn began, but pulled herself up short at the flat look Aqua gave her.

"Enough." Aqua admonished her reflexively. Really, she shouldn't be ticking off another Master her own age, but she behaved much as Terra and Ven did, and it was second nature to smooth over such conflicts. That, and being the High Master meant she commanded an extra stratum of authority, which she usually didn't like to use but admittedly came amazingly handy at times.

"Yes sir," Lynn grinned unashamedly, and turned around to walk across the square. Leo was yawning widely and stretching himself like a cat before shaking himself down. As he stood up, moving his considerable bulk out of the way, Lea appeared from behind him. The two of them stopped in their tracks about five feet away from each other; Lynn recovered first, turning in a different direction to the one she had been travelling and saying dully, "Hey."

"Hey." Lea said, his tone equally flat.

Aqua and Mel exchanged looks but didn't comment. Lea had expressed…something of an interest in Lynn, who had trouble still adjusting to being sociable after having been in hiding from everyone she knew for years. Aqua didn't know all the details, but she had managed to pull together enough to know that the pair of them had fallen out. Rosie knew more, and Mel could in all likelihood have guessed more if she put her mind to it, but neither of them passed any comment beyond a shared look of concern.

Lynn disappeared with Aerith on some spurious task, and Rhiannon followed after, giving Lea a piercing look before leaving, which he appeared to shrug off with a gesture of contempt. Rosie came back outside and sat between Mel and Aqua, sighing at the display before them. She stiffened and sat up very straight when Leo snuffled his way over, and stroked his nose with a wooden hand.

"That's _enough_ ," Mel said, trying to push his muzzle away when he started snuffling at their pockets. "You've had too many already."

Leo snorted loudly, his exhalation ruffling their hair, and gave Mel a hard look. He drew back and swung sideways when she returned the favour, flicking his ears back in a sign of muted distress before lowering his nose to the ground, wings slumping downward. Aqua put a hand over her mouth and fought very hard not to laugh as Mel took a deep and steady breath, summoning all of her patience as Leo tried to guilt trip her like there was no tomorrow.

"I have said it before, and I have little doubt that I shall be saying it again." Rosie said quietly when they were preparing to leave. "I do not envy your position."

"No." Aqua said dryly, appraising her charges.

Sora was bickering loudly with Lynn, who had wandered back after an hour or so with some boxes of surveillance cameras (Lea had disappeared somewhere with a book on magic theory to read up in his own time). Riku had his face in his hand, turned aside as though he wanted to give the strong impression that he didn't known either of them. Leah was chatting away animatedly with Mel and Kairi, also trying to ignore them as they bounced ideas for a textile project around together. Terra and Ven were talking to Rhiannon, laughing over something Aqua hadn't quite caught. Leo was flopped on his belly, neck outstretched and ears cocked at an angle that told her he was bored and wanted to go home.

Seeing this, Aqua sped up the process of farewells, and chivvied them all along. Leo cocked his head at her hopefully, and when Aqua thought everyone's attention was otherwise diverted, she slipped him one last brownie, which he hovered up off her palm at the speed of light. He swallowed quickly and danced aside, his eyes averted. Aqua turned to find Mel watching her closely.

"I saw that."

Aqua smiled innocently at her. "Sorry?" she offered.

Mel shook her head, and went to Leo's side silently. He gave her an apologetic look, and licked her cheek with an appeasing whine.

"Let's just go home…" she sighed heavily.

Aqua laughed, and turned to look at Terra as he came to her side and took her hand in his, and then over her other shoulder as Ven pitched up and slung his arm around her shoulders, grinning. Despite her best efforts to look stern, Mel smiled at Aqua as the three of them moved forward together, and they climbed into their accustomed places on the saddle. Leo waited for them to be comfortably seated, before he heaved himself back onto his feet and walked to the far end of the square, grating his goodbyes to the others before he spread his wings and launched himself into the air.

XOXOX

"So?" Rhiannon said loudly, slamming a thick wad of papers down onto the table in front of the Mage.

Rosie jumped out of her skin, and carefully laid her heavy books down before folding her hands in front of her and looking up. "Pardon?"

" _So_." She sat down opposite her. "That eejit said anytin' to ya?"

"No." Rosie said shortly, and Rhiannon quickly guessed something else was eating at her. She had always had a soft spot for Evie, there was something else going on…

"You okay, pet?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes…" she rubbed her temples tiredly. "The Guild has been pushing for me to become a peer mentor. I wanted to refuse, but a couple of likely candidates have appeared on the list. They both have medical conditions bordering in the chronic-fatigue area. Actually, one is a Lyme patient. She's being moved from the Matoi Guild because the mentors assigned to her year group can't really handle her…"

Rhiannon raised her eyebrows. "They're that behind on the times?"

"Well- from what I can gather she is having a lot of problems with anger management at the moment. Not that I can really blame her… It sounds as though her teachers were making the same sort of generalisations as the doctors and she just reached the end of her tether."

Rhiannon nodded with sympathy. She could remember the odd occasion when Rosie had blown her top to sheer frustration of her illness and lack of medical support.

"And the other girl has an autoimmune disorder. So, I said I would meet with them both and we'll take it from there and see what happens." She smiled ruefully. "I'm not entirely sure how much help I can be to them, but…well, we'll see."

Rhiannon gave her a piercing look. "Rose, you'll do the world of good to them. I just know it."

The Mage flushed and look down at her hands. "We'll see." She said again. Still, she looked uneasy about something, and after some more prodding Rhiannon got it out of her. "I can't stop thinking about that damn scroll…I _know_ it's in the library somewhere! I desperately want to help them out, but-"

Rhiannon waved her worries away with a vague gesture. "You know they don't want you workin' yourself into the ground over it. If the scroll's still there, you'll find it. If not, I'm sure sometin' else will turn up. That's basically the way the Keyblade works."

Rosie frowned and leaned her chin against her hand, propped up on the table with her elbow. "I wish I could be as certain and as calm as you. I've been asking everyone I know who does any studying in arcane lore, and I haven't come anywhere close to the Keyblade, let alone the Dragon Keeper."

Rhiannon gave her a hard look. "If you give Eaves an ulcer over this, I won't never forgive you."

Rosie smiled and shook her head. "No, we wouldn't want that now, would we?"

"Want what?" Evie asked, sweeping over to their table in the castle library and flopping into the chair beside Rosie.

"You spitting blood everywhere. Again." Rhiannon said wickedly.

"I should hope _not_!"

Rosie covered her eyes with her hand and said nothing, her mouth twisting with the effort of not smiling.

"I'm always cleaning up your messes…" Rhiannon sighed theatrically.

Evie made a rude hand gesture in her direction, and looked at Rosie with concern. "You okay, sweetpea? You look knackered." She always took a keen interest in her well being, no matter how many months she had been symptom free now…

"Just a bit tired. I've been up late the last few nights. I can't shake the feeling about that scroll…"

"Don't kill yourself on our account, yeah? It's our Dragon, after all. Not the Guilds'."

"No. Thank God…" Rosie shivered involuntarily. "I don't like to think what the bureaucratic system would do with him…"

"You just keep an eye and an ear out. You never know, _someone_ might know something, but don't make it your top priority." Evie grinned mischievously. "After all, you gots _other_ things to be thinkin' about, eh Rosa?"

"I tink she'll make an _excellent_ mentor." Rhiannon said stiffly.

Evie raised an eyebrow and turned a yellow eye on her. "Not that. Didn't she tell you?" she grinned as Rosie slumped forward onto the table and whined, begging her to stop. "That dick what runs the labs in the east wing at Ladonier is off sick after an operation on his shoulder,"

"He shattered his collarbone falling down the stairs in the meditation hall." Rosie said with a sigh. "He cannot function in that much pain, and he's not safe to teach after he's taken all those pain killers."

"So she's got to give the fourth years a sex-ed talk." Evie concluded, grinning ever more widely. "It's _hilarious_ because she's being oh so typically British about the whole thing."

"I don't like you…"

Rhiannon snorted with laughter. "Ahh, I see now flower, why you're so drained."

"It just had to be the one year group with the most disruptive students…" she rubbed her forehead again, and leant into Evie's embrace when she wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "I did think about the game with the indicator paper and the cups of water and lemonade to show how STIs can spread quickly, but I'm sure they'll be silly with it."

"Do you remember that talk we had at Uni?" Evie asked, her eyes faraway with a distant memory. "And that bell end Nicky, or whatever his name was…going up to some of the women in the room and telling them he didn't want to dip in their cups and making it blatantly clear he thought they weren't good enough to have sex with, and just generally being a misogynistic prick."

"Yes, and then he came up to us-!" Rosie laughed, remembering.

"And Samira was like," she pretended to give an invisible figure a satirical once over, holding her imaginary cup before flicking her hand up in a dismissive gesture. "'No thank you, we have more taste than that. Come along, girls.'" They both giggled at the memory. "How is our Samira anyway? I fear for her up there in London."

"Oh, there was the case of the reverse mugging."

" _What_?" both Masters said flatly.

"Some…person who was probably on drugs at the time came up to her in the road after dark and handed her a fifty pound note, said ' _sssh_ ' and ran off without a word. The police didn't do anything because no crime had been committed, so she put it in the collection box at her mosque. Yes, London is testing her sanity but she's all right. Enjoying her new job,"

"I really worry about her…" Evie pulled a face.

They sat in contemplative silence for a while, and then Rosie got up to leave. She would be going back to her Guild for a couple of seminars on something to do with the ethics of medicinal magicks, and to raid the main library again. Evie and Rhiannon said goodbye and gave her farewell hugs before she left the library, and then sat down again at the table and gave each other meaningful looks.

"Something's bugging her, and it 'ent just the Guild." Evie said, poking at a stack of x-rays she had brought down with her.

"Hmm." Was all Rhiannon could think of to say.

"And something's bugging _you_ now."

Rhiannon gave herself a little shake, and met Evie's gaze levelly. "Sometin's always buggin' me when you're around."

Evie didn't smile.

"I don't know…it's all so frustratin', clutchin' at straws like this. I did tink she'd've found sometin by now, but…"

Evie leant back in her chair, arms spread wide in defeat. "There's precious little written down. And what _is_ written down has been exceedingly unhelpful. I was wonderin' if we should be looking outside the sphere of written work altogether." When Rhiannon stared at her blankly, she rolled her eyes dramatically and said, "The oral tradition. Maybe someone somewhere remembers something that weren't written down, perhaps?"

"Maybe…" it could be worth a shot, if they knew which direction to look in first.

They sat in silence for a long time, until eventually, Evie said somewhat wistfully, "I wish Kenny and the Master were here."

Rhiannon smiled tiredly. "Me too. Masters always know what to do, and Kenny always could pull a solution out of his arse whenever we needed it most."

Evie interlocked her fingers together and leant her chin against them, looking rather meek. In an uncharacteristically quiet voice, she said, "Not that I could really face either of them…"

Rhiannon sighed, not knowing what to say to that, that wouldn't exacerbate the issue.

Eventually, Kyo came into the room looking for Evie, saying Ansem wanted something, and they both got up and followed him outside. It was one of the small stations they had set up on a roof near the main market thoroughfare; it was little more than a garden shed, bolted to the roof top to keep any prevailing wind from wiping it clean off the roof, and full of computer bits and pieces that were connected to the castle's main frame. Evie and Cid had cunningly fitted a security network together, and from these little stations you could watch the cameras that were fixed all over the outskirts of the city for any nighttime prowlers, and upload the files into the main system where they were backed up and available for viewing from almost any computer connected to the network. The footage was proving rather valuable, as the degenerate monsters displayed behaviours that Evie catalogued and then cross-referenced to give some more context as to what was going on. They seemed to move in small groups, and while their ramblings appeared random, there was something of a pattern to it; a pack mentality, and they always seemed to perform the same sort of ritualistic behaviours and to be moving with a certain purpose as the weeks ticked over.

"They did the scenting thing again." Kyo told Evie, pointing at one of the screens that was playing the footage back while she was busy unscrewing the mouse and cleaning out the mechanism inside. "Does that mean they're marking the town as their territory?" he frowned worriedly at the thought.

"They bloody well _won't_ ," Evie snarled to herself, putting the mouse together again, and finding that she had reassembled it incorrectly, now it wouldn't register the movement of the tracker ball. "Not if we have a say in anything."

"Well, you need to tell _them_ that." Kyo said, with the sort of air of trying and failing to sound like a grown up.

Rhiannon just folded her arms and said nothing. She couldn't really handle Kyo and his particular needs, so she remained silent. When Ansem called Kyo away, asking him to take a stack of papers and a few sleeves of CDs and floppy discs up to the lab, Evie threw her an amused look before turning away from the raised fist that was shaken at her, squashing down a laugh. Rhiannon gave her a wry smile, getting a cheeky grin in return, seeing her red eye in profile and almost able to imagine they were back at home with no more worrying quandaries than dodging Kenny's next practical joke and getting their katas correct.

They did a quick tour around the town, checking each station over and poking at power cables, and a couple of times hitting wireless routers and wall plugs with screwdrivers and wrenches that lay around to hand. Later that day they joined the Committee outside HQ for a hot pot of Cid's, and spent the evening playing cards with Cid and Cloud while Kyo and his two mates ran around shouting and laughing, playing with the two dogs Angelo and Tiggy. It was a pleasant time spent in the summer evening warmth; being normal and human, and taking pleasure in simple, familiar things.

The next couple of days followed the same routine; when they weren't checking equipment and logging data, they were reviewing old data and fiddling with results and computer codes (or programming or whatever it was called). Evie was pleased with the progress they had made on Leo's scans; they had found a way of setting up a rig that tracked the movement of lots of little white dots attached at strategic places on his body, mostly over and around strategic joints, and using some special cameras the computer could create an image of the dragon's every movement. They had had to invade a school gymnasium that happened to have large sliding doors at one end big enough for Leo to squeeze through, and do it all at the weekend to keep from being interfered with by the curious and excitable pupils.

Yes, Evie was very pleased indeed. She and Tron were very carefully layering these images with scans and x-rays of individual joints and limbs they had managed to get hold of. By the end of the third day, she had an almost complete model of the bones in Leo's left wing – which would be a perfect reference guide in the unfortunate event of needing to reset the bones, which were surprisingly delicate given his great size and heavy build. The structure of the other wing would be essentially the same, but as Evie reminded Rhiannon with a dramatic roll of the eyes, no one was perfectly symmetrical, so they had to build the other side of him up from scratch to make the model as accurate as they could possibly make it.

It was like any other day, really; the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and Evie was in full swing with her notes and her enthusiasm for research. Rhiannon sighed heavily, rolled her eyes, and made a point of complaining loudly about her old friend's exuberance – all the while trying her damnedest not to grin _too_ widely. She enjoyed Evie's delight; she looked like her old self. Except for that stupid hair cut, that is, although she had had worse hair dos in the past, Rhiannon supposed…

They took the usual route around the town, Ansem in tow with Kyo skipping around Evie's heels like a puppy, while they took readings and banged boxes with tools and speculated heavily about what it all meant. They were sure that for now the town was safe, but a curfew was in place all the same; Mel's crystals protected the equipment from being damaged by the strange energy-come-magicks the creatures commanded, but it didn't act as a deterrent. That was another thing Kyo was working on in the chemistry lab – some kind of monster repellent to spray around the territory, like pepper spray or like lion scent used to deter house cats. All the attempts had failed so far, but Kyo preserved nonetheless, determined to get it right eventually.

Rhiannon was talking to Ansem about something trivial she forgot soon after, enjoying the warm summer air and the peace of this World. They could hear Kyo laughing and Evie telling him the next part of her joke, and he laughed even harder. Rhiannon rolled her eyes again, and caught the older man turning away with a chuckle.

"Watch it-!" Evie said suddenly, and Rhiannon looked over her shoulder vaguely in time to see a stack of boxes topple over and send their contents flying with an almighty clatter.

"Oops! Sorry, Lynn…"

"Never mind…" she sighed heavily, poking her temple with closed eyes. "Here, give us a hand…" With her back turned, Rhiannon heard her add mockingly, "Oh, don't rush over to help or anything. It's cool Rhi, we got this."

"I know ya do, pet. That's why I'm standin' here." She said with a smile, not deigning to turn around.

"Ah, I was wondering," Ansem said, looking up from his clipboard. He began to ask about perhaps helping out with something for the Committee, but later Rhiannon never remembered what it was he said.

There was another clatter from behind, and it took a few moments for Rhiannon to realise that everything suddenly had gone very quiet – which was very unusual when Kyo and Evie were in the same vicinity. She frowned, wondering what they were up to, and turned around, not hearing a single word Ansem was saying.

Evie was standing on shaking legs, staring ahead with wide eyes, her mouth gaping as she struggled to breathe, and Kyo was watching her with blank horror. Something thick and dark was sticking out of her below the rib cage at an angle, like a jagged bolt, and where it touched her form her body was wavering, like it was suddenly insubstantial.

Rhiannon didn't know she was screaming. All she could think of was to reach Evie before she collapsed and hurt herself further. Slowly, she sank to her knees, and before she could slump sideways Rhiannon had her in her arms, checking the wound and feeling for her pulse.

"Eaves! Can you here me? It's all right pet, it's all right now, you're okay,"

"What-?" she broke off weakly, raising a shaking hand to the thing sticking out of her, as if she had only just noticed it was there. "Shit. What is it?"

"It's okay, you're okay-"

Evie coughed, and a trickle of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. She swore, her tone mild as though she were faintly surprised, like it was only a paper cut. The light in her eyes was dimming.

"Evie, stay with me!"

The numb feeling was draining away, leaving behind in its wake a full bodied, gnawing panic that started eating at her chest and spread throughout her body. She couldn't let anything happen to her…she couldn't…she needed to look after Evie-

"Where'd it come from?" Evie rallied enough to look up at Rhiannon, suddenly alert. "Get Kyo-!" she coughed more violently, shaking hard and bringing up a fountain of blood that almost choked her. Finally, she managed to get out, "Kyo – outta…here!" before her voice broke.

Ansem was standing over them by then, Kyo hanging on his elbow blankly, shaking, and she didn't see his expression. Rhiannon raised a shield, cursing inwardly that she hadn't thought of it before, and looked around wildly for an assailant.

"Get Leon down here." She said urgently to Ansem. "Find the fecker that did this-!"

Evie croaked something, and Rhiannon smoothed the hair off her forehead. She was deathly pale, and her brow was slicked with sweat.

"Doesn't hurt…" she murmured quietly.

"No. Don't you dare. Don't you bloody dare…"

"Rhi…" Evie grimaced, closing her eyes and breathing unevenly. It was like a scene in a film. It didn't feel like it was happening to them. "I'm…ahh…I'm so sorry…"

"Oh, you _will_ be if you die on me. I'll bloody kill you!" she wanted to shake her, but that would make things worse on her injury.

"No…sorry…what I put you through…" Evie's eyes were glazing over, and suddenly Rhiannon couldn't see. The tears were falling down her cheeks unnoticed, and she only became aware of them when she wiped them off Evie's face where they mingled with the blood on her chin. "I – never wanted…to hurt you."

"No…don't do this to me…" Rhiannon whispered harshly.

"You…" she grimaced again, and her breath was even fainter. Her whole body shivered and wavered like it had little more substance than smoke. She was fading. Fading away like a Dusk after you had whacked it hard enough with your Keyblade. "You tell…Kenny, when you…s-see him…I'm so s…sorry…"

"You can tell him yourself, you eejit." Rhiannon said through gritted teeth. "Don't do this to me."

"You really…want to make…my…my last words to you…a…a – f-fight?" Evie smiled, blood dribbling from her mouth.

It took a few moments for Rhiannon to figure out where the sudden harsh sound was coming from; it was her own sob. This all felt unreal, like she was just a spectator watching these things happen to someone else. Then why did it feel like her heart was fracturing into splinters?

"Th-thanks…y…you never…gave up…on us…never…"

Rhiannon felt like she was falling apart with Evie's body, and pulled her close, careful of the gaping wound and the thick black shard piercing her torso. She knew it was no use, she couldn't delay the inevitable. And she hated herself for it.

"You – were…always, the…b-best sis-sister…Rhi," she drew a deep breath, but she couldn't get the rest of the words out. She closed her eyes slowly, and her breath escaped over her lips with a tired sigh.

Rhiannon hugged her close, trying to bury her face in Evie's too short hair. And then, all too quickly, she was hugging herself. With a sort of detached consciousness, she opened her eyes, and looked at the space where Evie had been. Her bag was laid on the ground nearby where she had slung it earlier, her notes scattered a little by the light breeze. On the cobblestones before Rhiannon was the thick barbed shard of some unknown, crystalline substance, glittering darkly in the summer sun, stained with blood and shadows.

Shaking, Rhiannon reached for it, feeling the strange material almost leap and twist in her hand. Powerful, dark magicks resided in this thing. Someone had attacked her. And then the full realisation of the situation hit her like a landslide.

Evie was dead.

Rhiannon was on her feet before her mind could fully catch up with what her Heart was doing. Her Keyblade leapt to her hand with the instinct of emotion – all rational thought fled as her mind sunk into a tortured stupor. Dark energy flowed and flickered over her arms, and if she had been aware of that she probably would not have given a rats ass anyway.

Her world narrowed down to just three things, three facts of absolute truth. Someone had killed Evie; everything in her field of vision was a shade of red; someone was going to pay.

Raising her Keyblade, turning to the direction from which the blow would have been sent from, Rhiannon screamed. She was barely aware as her pain and fury took over her senses, she didn't know what she was screaming, if there were any words on her tongue – all she knew was she wanted blood.

Leaving the shield up around Ansem and Kyo, she ran blindly towards the tall building where the shard had been launched from, moving faster than she had ever done in her life, her sole purpose to catch whoever had done this and make them suffer.

XOXOX

"Anything?" Aqua asked, scanning the horizon again, bemused.

Ven floated by, just beyond the precipice of the cliff edge, his Glider swaying in the breeze, shrugging dramatically as the sea churned far beneath him against the craggy rocks.

"Nope." He shifted his weight forward and urged his Glider further along the cliff, looking this way and that – but finding nothing.

Aqua turned around to look at Leo. He was stretched out on the grass, looking bored and hungry. He had been patrolling the valley behind them to the south, and apparently he had found nothing too.

Terra and Mel came back from opposite directions, having staked out a wide river that cut a wide cleft into the top of the cliff before it joined the northern sea, and a sparsely furnished forest to the west. They both spread their hands in a gesture of defeat.

"I found some tracks, but they must be weeks old now. Leo hasn't found any fresh scents," Mel said, looking over at him. Leo lifted his great head off his paws and watched her intently, grating at the back of his throat.

"So." Terra said, folding his arms and staring out to sea, unimpressed. "No Heartless."

Mel shook her head.

"No Nobodies."

"Nope."

"No monsters of any description."

"Nada."

"So we just wasted the whole morning." He said with annoyance.

Mel and Aqua exchanged looks.

"Knowing where they _aren't_ is just as important as knowing where they are." Mel said softly.

Terra shot her an annoyed look, but relented quickly, knowing she as always had a point. Leo's approach may have been a deciding factor in this, but his expression softened nonetheless when he looked at Aqua. Leo lowered his head and rubbed his face against Mel's body before he said in his deep, guttural equivalent of human speech, not quite able to reproduce some of the sounds correctly, " _Home_."

"When Ven gets back from scouting the shoreline." Mel promised him, scratching under his chin, much to Leo's delight. He squirmed and wriggled like an adoring puppy, making Terra and Aqua smile. Leo stood over eight feet at the shoulder now; Mel was only about four foot four, not even reaching up to anyone's shoulder. To see them together, no one could doubt the love and affection they had for one another, and how well their personalities gelled together. All the same, if you looked purely at their comparative sizes, they made a pretty bizarre looking pair bordering on ridiculous. Terra and Lynn fancied that if Mel tucked her knees up to her chin and folded her arms in, she could probably fit completely inside his mouth.

"So I was thinking," Terra said conversationally as Aqua watched Ven zipping off into the distance. "Duck soup for lunch?"

"That sounds great." Mel had brought home a bushel of wild arctic ducks yesterday, plump from their summer feeding. The remains of the meat were in a box in the fridge, and they had a big pot of stock to use up as well. The thought made Aqua's mouth water.

"I saw some garlic growing back there," Mel pointed over her shoulder. "And some edible mushrooms. Shall I dig some up?"

"Yes please!" Terra said, beating her to the saddlebags. With the new and vastly improved storage system, courtesy of Berk's head dragon trainer, Leo usually carried a small gardening kit around for Mel to use in just such circumstances. They dug a handful of wild garlic bulbs from different locations along the edge of the forest, and Mel carefully extricated a dozen large, delicious looking mushrooms once she was certain they were not a similar looking species that was deadly poisonous. They also found some wild onions, and Aqua picked some rosemary and thyme that grew all over the place in sporadic clumps, tucking them into a small leather pouch at her waist.

Ven returned to report that he had found nothing, and helped to wash the food off in the stream and pack it away into envelopes of raw hide that they bound shut with thick cord, and tied to the side of the saddle. Leo swung his head round to look at them as they worked, before he turned to look out to sea again. It was a brisk, breezy sort of day in this World – not a trace of Darkness to be found. Aqua was a little disappointed to find their initial reports had been wrong about this place. It made her worry that they were losing their touch, or maybe just becoming paranoid…

Terra grabbed Mel as she walked past, lost in thought. She squeaked as he lifted her up and over his shoulders around the back of his head, ducking aside from the armour on his shoulder and giving him a muted, sort of tired look as he turned his face to grin at her.

"That was almost my eye. Again…" she said quietly, and then squeaked again when he deliberately jostled her energetically, shifting his weight on his feet and taking a firmer hold of her wrist and ankle to keep her from wriggling free.

"You're so light, I don't know how you don't just float away when Leo's flying." He teased.

"Lots of practise. So if you'd just put me down-"

"Avast!" Ven yelled, plucking a thick stick from the ground and brandishing it with a flamboyant and graceful flick of the wrist at Terra. "Lay down yon fair maiden and retreat to the cursed black pit from whence you came!"

Aqua took a step back, folded her arms, and raised an eyebrow, regarding them both dully.

Terra also raised an eyebrow, and Mel lifted her chin so her face was clear of the sharp edges of Terra's shoulder guard, and looked at Ven with confusion.

"Who are you, Shakespeare?" Terra asked, hefting Mel into a more defensible position, making her edge away from the guard as best she could, face averted. "You hear that, Mel? He thinks he's the father of the English language."

"That's actually more likely to be Chaucer." Mel said, trying to push herself away from the metal. She had cut her cheek on it already playing this game, and she wasn't prepared to go a second round. "Rose has this fascinating book about-"

"I say again, blaggard!" Ven said, affecting a throbbing, theatrical tone and flourishing his weapon at Terra. Leo flicked his ears with interest and sniffed the air around them, curious as to what would happen next and watching Mel closely for cues. "Put down that fair maiden and stop harassing her! Or you shall taste of my blade!" he poked Terra in the stomach, and the man jumped back, jostling Mel as he did so.

"Definitely Shakespeare." He said sagely.

"I dunno… I always did prefer Lorica of Turbansk when it comes down to poetry."

"Who?" Terra asked, looking at her distractedly.

"She was a mystic of the kingdom the Suderain, her poetry is beautiful."

Ven took advantage of his scattered attention to make a lunge for him. Terra sidestepped, swinging Mel around precariously, and the side of her face collided with the shoulder guard she had been trying to avoid.

"I think that's enough-" Aqua began, and ended with a heavy sigh when no one paid the blindest bit of attention to her.

"Leo!" Mel squeaked, struggling against Terra's grip, who was in turn struggling to keep Ven at bay as he flourished his stick, yelling, "Have at you!"

Leo was on the scene in two long strides; he bent down and butted his nose hard against the backs of Terra's knees to tip his balance, and then pressed his snout towards Mel. She flailed wildly as Terra listed, and flung an arm around one of his horns. Leo managed to drape one of her legs across his nose, and lifted her bodily from Terra's shoulders; he pitched sideways onto the grass, throwing his hands up to fend off Ven's stick. He sprang to his feet, lifting a short, fat log he had found as he went, and brandished it at him with a battle cry that startled some nearby birds into flight.

Leo very carefully lowered Mel to the ground and nuzzled her neck affectionately. She picked herself up and dusted herself down, and Leo gave the boys a hard look before he turned around and very deliberately scuffed at the ground with his hind leg, kicking up a spray of dirt and grass that momentarily blinded them both. Not able to see clearly, Ven walked straight into Terra just as the older man tripped on an unseen root, and they both toppled over in a messy heap.

"Right," Aqua said loudly, clapping her hands together briskly. "That's it. _Home_."

Of course, Terra took the opportunity of Ven's distracted gaze to pounce, and they landed in another messy heap, kicking and hitting each other with great shouts of childish delight. Aqua marched up to Leo's side and climbed into her accustomed perch on the saddle. Mel paused, watching to two men wrestle, and thought better of it. She instead turned and leaned her knees against Leo's proffered muzzle, holding on to his horns as he lifted her from the ground to his withers. From there she slid easily onto the patch of the saddle referred to as the drivers seat, and flexed her hands around the leather grips as she settled her legs into the grooves of the carved wood.

The dragon swung his head around to face forward again, and once both women were settled comfortably he gave himself a shake down like a dog, the thick network of muscles that supported his body in flight rippling powerfully beneath them. Then he lifted his head and sniffed at Terra and Ven.

"Actually, I want to stop off at Radiant Garden first before we go home." Mel said to Aqua over her shoulder as Leo lazily prepared himself for take off, lining himself up for the charge into the lifting winds.

"Okay then,"

"Guys?" Mel's voice didn't travel very far, and she didn't bother trying a second time, so she gave Leo his head.

Leo sprang forward, intending to dive off the cliff and make use of the air currents; his trajectory took them over Ven and Terra, who jumped apart and started waving at shouting at them as they took to the air. Aqua simply waved at them merrily as Leo banked over the sea far below them, riding on an updraft lazily.

Before they slid into the Lanes Between Terra managed to fall gracelessly into the saddle behind Aqua, and summon his armour. Ven danced lithely forward on his Glider, opting to fly ahead with Leo and keeping pace with him as he beat his enormous wing. Leo growled with amusement and twisted in midair, sending a buffeting current of air that Ven had to ride like a surfer to avoid being blown off course. Mel poked up hard through his armour, and Leo settled into a steady rhythm as Ven drew back to ride in his slipstream.

Radiant Garden was peaceful for a weekend afternoon; they alighted in a large square near the town centre, and didn't see anyone. Leo rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck before settling down to groom his feathers as they rallied after disembarking, still laughing and joking with each other. Mel shivered suddenly, and hugged herself closely like she was feeling sick, but the moment seemed to pass quickly. Strange feelings such as these sometimes came over her – Aqua noted it but passed no comment. Mel didn't like being made a fuss of, and if there was anything really serious she would let them know.

As they were rounding a corner they collided heavily with Yuffie, who had been herring down the street. Mel toppled over from the force of the impact, and looked up dazedly as Ven heaved her to her feet.

"Where have you been!?" Yuffie demanded frantically, almost angrily.

"Out." Terra said shortly, folding his arms. He didn't suffer anyone to knock Mel around like that, even if it was by accident.

"Terra!" Riku shouted, having skidded into the street from the far end and spotted them. He pounded the remaining distance between them, yelling, "Aqua!"

Aqua was fairly certain now that something was very wrong. Riku wasn't the type to fly into a panic. He almost tripped as he tried to slow down, crashing into Ven's shoulder; but he had been anticipating the impact and was ready for it, and righted the young man with a steady hand on each shoulder.

"What's going on?"

"Lynn, she-" Riku swallowed, unable to speak. Finally, clutching at Ven's shoulders, he said, "Rhiannon's so angry. I don't know what to do-!"

"Calm down," Ven said soothingly. "Tell us what's happened?"

"Some- someone shot Lynn. She's dead." Riku swallowed. "And Rhiannon…she's so angry, I don't know what to do! She can't control herself,"

Aqua looked sharply at Terra, who was looking rather pale.

"Where is she?" Mel asked gently as Leo snorted loudly in alarm, sitting back on his haunches before standing up again and dancing backwards in agitation, his ears laid back.

"The Castle Postern." Riku said.

"Up," Mel said to him, gesturing to Leo and they followed suit, climbing onto his back.

It would be too difficult to take off from here and land at the Postern, so he ran the distance, ploughing a path through the sparse crowds of people they came across, who were all now too used to the dragon being around to be scared, though his lips pulled back in an aggressive snarl gave some cause for alarm. Leo skittered across the flagstones as they reached their destination, the Keyblade Masters already sliding from his back before he had come to a complete stop.

Leon and Ansem were arguing with Rhiannon. They were trying to be calm and reasonable; Rhiannon looked like she could murder someone, and was screaming at them at the top of her lungs.

Sora spun round anxiously, and looked relieved when he saw Riku and Aqua hurrying towards him. "Thank goodness!" he said. "You found them,"

"Anything else happen?" Riku asked urgently.

Sora grimaced and pointed at a dark scorch mark on a wall that Aqua had not seen before. When she turned back to Rhiannon, she saw flickerings of dark energy licking along her arms as her voice increased in volume. She was completely beside herself with anger, and Aqua suddenly felt unequal to the task of bringing her back down again.

Leo made a grunting sound that modulated into a whine, flicking his tail back and forth with his ears laid back flat against his skull. Mel slipped the strap of her satchel over her head and handed it to Ven without looking at him, her eyes fixed on Rhiannon.

"Terra, I need a hand." She said quickly in a low voice, digging in the pouches attached to her thighs. She also took a couple of vials from a bag lashed to the saddle, and paused long enough to stroke Leo's nose soothingly and murmur something to him. Leo snorted and lifted his head before pacing around the edge of the Postern, watching Rhiannon and Mel closely.

"What do you need me to do?" Terra asked as they rallied themselves.

Mel surveyed the scene before them. "I need you and Riku to grab hold of her. Aqua, if you could hold up a shield just in case. She's running on emotion so her power is going to be erratic," when it came to emotions and energies, Mel was their best weapon. "Ven, if you could holds these-"

"Sure," he took the vials from her, and a small crystal, which he tucked into the band around his wrist for safekeeping.

"Sora, take this," she handed him a handkerchief she had doused with something from another bottle. "But – don't smell it! It'll knock you out for a couple of hours,"

Sora held the cloth out at arms length as though it might bite him.

"That's a last resort. Leo will step in if Rhiannon gets violent." She looked around at them all. "Ready?"

"No," Terra said, watching the raving woman warily.

"Follow my lead," Mel said quietly, an uncharacteristically grim curve to her mouth.

They all turned and fell into a loose formation before they advanced carefully, mindful of the power emanating from the Keyblade Master in her fury. It reminded Aqua forcefully of how that kind of power had once consumed Terra, but she bit back those unpleasant memories so she could focus on the present. Beneath the fear of that dark power and the anxiety of injury, a pain lanced through Aqua when she thought of the aching anguish Rhiannon must be feeling, that was driving her to this length.

XOXOX

It was a long, hard day when all was said and done. Ven finally found Mel curled up against Leo's side with Kyo draped across her chest, his sleeping face stained with tears. He had been there when Lynn had been shot right through the chest, and hadn't spoken a single word since. Mel was very pale, stroking his hair and breathing deeply to control her own emotions.

Tomasa had come bursting into HQ earlier, having been summoned with Donald and Goofy, and made a beeline for his two cousins, sweeping everyone else away from Kyo with a contained but fierce protectiveness. Now he was walking across the square with two steaming mugs, one of which he handed to Mel. She took it with a murmured thanks and sipped slowly. Leo flicked his ears and looked sidelong at Tomasa, who ignored him to sit beside his cousin, and then turned to look at Ven, who reached down and patted his muzzle reassuringly.

Ven sat down on Mel's other side, and Leo shifted so his nose was pressed against Ven's hip, and he leaned his arm against the dragon's head, stroking the soft feathers on his brow. It was a few minutes before it occurred to Tomasa to offer a hot drink to Ven, speaking stiltedly and looking relieved when Ven raised a hand with a smile and said no thank you. Kyo shifted in his sleep, and Mel handed her mug to Ven so she could comfort him, and he took a small sip. It was chamomile, and it was a little too warm for the weather, but it was nonetheless soothing.

Rhiannon had resisted their attempts to calm her down, and they had had to fight her to keep her from running off into the town where she could unintentionally do damage in her rage. Ven had only ever seen that kind of ire once before, and it sent a shiver of recognition down his spine to think of it. When he closed his eyes, he could see Terra staring down Master Eraqus instead, and he tried to avoid those memories. He could tell Terra was as well; he was jumpy and agitated on top of his sorrow for Lynn, and Aqua was racing between everyone trying to hold the whole together. Mel would have been there with her if Kyo hadn't been falling apart, and Ven had spent most of the afternoon with Aqua doing what he could.

Eventually, Rhiannon had calmed down enough to listen. After having dealt them all a few injuries, that is – Sora was sporting a black eye that Aerith had tended to and Riku was holding his left wrist gingerly where the bone had been fractured and promptly mended again with magic, but was still swollen and painful. When Rhiannon had calmed down enough to listen to sense, she had opted to knock herself out with Mel's solution; anything to dull the pain she was feeling and save them the hassle of cleaning up after her further.

Mel took a deep, steadying breath, which she released shakily and squeezed back when Ven took her hand in support, balancing the mug on his knee. Tomasa didn't say anything, and studied his boot like it was the only thing in the world, his face hard and set.

Aqua walked across the square with Kairi, who looked rather anxious, and asked if they were all okay. Leo lifted his head and nuzzled her silently, blowing air over her hands before he settled down against Ven's side again. She nodded distractedly to herself, and went inside with Kairi, who then came out after a few minutes to join Sora and Riku, who had just arrived from the castle. The three of them set off wordlessly, joined by Donald and Goofy who were waiting for them on the other side of the square with Cid and Yuffie.

Someone had been in the town, and taken Lynn out of action. Mel had sat down with her preferred deck of cards, some knuckle bones and her pendulum earlier, and done some intensive dowsing after she had calmed herself down. From what she could gather, it was connected to the monsters they had been monitoring, and the people they had seen when they had stormed Maleficent's castle to rescue Leo. When she had asked specifically about Lynn, she had been given a load of gibberish in response, and had spent the rest of the day trying to understand it. When she had kept the one particular question fixed in her mind: _Is Lynn integral to these peoples' plans?_ the pendulum had first swung one way, and then violently in another, before it had wobbled back and forth until it was swinging unevenly counter-clockwise. At that point, Mel had given up on the exercise.

Dowsing was something she excelled at, but it was a very temperamental form of divination and if not implemented properly, could be very misleading; emotions could rule the responses given, and even with a clear and focused mind with no distractions, you could still come up with nothing. While they sat there against Leo's side, she took the little brass pendulum from her pocket, and tried again, putting it away quickly with a sigh.

"Still nothing?" Ven asked.

Mel stared into the middle distance before her with unfocused eyes. "Maybe because she's a Nobody…" she said very quietly, stroking her brother's hair. "Any question I ask about her it just goes straight to _search_."

The usual dowsing responses were for the pendulum to swing or spin in a particular direction (every person having a specific set of responses) denoting: yes, no (sometimes 'maybe' or a neutral response) and search, which usually meant 'you're not meant to know at this time' (or 'meh' as Ven liked to call it). Ven had a pendulum Mel had given him, which he carried in a little silk pouch in his pocket at all times – it was driving him up the wall trying to learn to use it properly. He didn't know how Mel coped with the often cryptic answers she was given.

The Committee took it in turns to sweep the town, looking for Lynn's attacker, but Mel was certain they had long since left. Before she had gone to Kyo, she had searched the building they thought the attack had been launched from. Leo had snuffled around, memorising the scent with a sneer of distaste; he would hunt down whoever it was and rip them a new one when the time came. The thought made Ven shiver, remembering what had been left of the monster that had mauled Mel earlier that year. Leo was not someone to cross, or threaten his friends…

Ven looked up in a stupor of gloom and fatigue, and sat up sharply when he saw Rhiannon was up and moving about. Mel turned to look at him questioningly, and saw her too, and instantly pulled herself up. She said something to Tomasa, and carefully handed Kyo over to his care as Ven got to his feet. Leo lifted his head warily but didn't move, watching them both anxiously as they hurried across the square. Mel called to Aqua's mind using a technique only Masters were shown how use, that was a little tricky to learn and they had been practising carefully; it worked on some of the same principles as energy work, so it came relatively easy to Mel. Aqua was outside with Terra almost instantly, Leon following hard on their heels. Cloud followed, looking dark and resolute, his shirt singed from his earlier brush with Rhiannon's wrath. Ven almost didn't notice Lea, who was at the back of the group looking very white and had said nothing to anyone all day.

"You do whatever you want." Rhiannon said shortly, eyes closed to avoid looking at any of them. "But I'm going."

"Where?" Aqua asked gently, making no move to encourage or detain her.

"She told me what had happened to her, what she could remember. A person reappears in the place where they lost their Heart. Correct?"

There was an uneasy shuffling, and a few furtive looks shot at Lea.

"Yes." Mel said for them all, exerting a calming influence on them all through sheer force of will. Ven glanced at her from the corner of his eyes; she was getting close to the end of her nerves, he could feel it. She could throw as many crystals around and burn all the incense she liked, but it would only delay the inevitable for so long.

"Then I'm going to look for her."

Aqua opened her mouth to say something, but she turned in alarm to look at Mel, who was suddenly on her knees and clutching her stomach. Ven knelt beside her as she retched, but nothing came up, and she slowly sat up, shaking slightly.

"I'm okay." She said softly. "I just feel a bit sick."

Probably from the shock, Ven thought to himself as he helped her to her feet. Then again, as he examined her face more closely, maybe not…

Rhiannon took a deep breath.

"I won't ask any of you to come with. You've been kind to us both', and I tank you for that. But this is someting I have to do."

"You have no guarantee that she'll be there," Terra said gently. "You could be on a wild goose chase."

The look Rhiannon gave him was enough to silence even the most vocal of detractors, and had a finger of fear tracing Ven's spine.

"You just imagine yourself for a moment in my shoes." She said venomously. "What would you do? Stand around and twiddle your tumbs? I can't do that. I'm going."

Mel had been leaning against Ven for support, her arms holding her abdomen like she was nursing bad cramps, when her head snapped up sharply. Her shamanic intuition was not something she could ever have complete conscious control over, but when it kicked in she was usually right, and they had learnt to follow her instincts.

"You can't go by yourself." Mel said simply, her tone muted.

"You do whatever you like. But I can't stay here." Rhiannon said, more gently to Mel. "You know that better than anyone, Mel."

"Yes. I'll go with you."

Aqua looked at Terra and then at Ven, who met her gaze steadily. "I think its safe to say we're behind you as well." She said with a note of finality in her tone.

"Where are we going?" Terra asked grimly.

Rhiannon hesitated, and raised a hand to brush the pale, red stained hair out of her eyes. They were red rimmed, and Ven saw for the first time how tired and drained she really was.

"Keyblade Graveyard." She said shortly. "I'm leaving in twenty minutes. Come or don't come as you see fit." With that, she turned on her heel and marched away, her back straight and forbidding any gesture of comfort or sympathy. She was a woman on a single-minded mission, who would brook no opposition.

Ven shivered.

Mel said she had to talk to Tomasa, and left the group quickly. After speaking to her cousin, Terra lifted Kyo easily off the ground and took him back to the castle with Tomasa so he could sleep in a proper bed, and would wake up with his cousin to look after him. In the meantime, Mel removed everything non-essential from the saddlebags and stashed them with Rinoa's help in HQ. Ven helped her to rearrange what they had kept as economically as they could for aerodynamics and speed. Aqua checked their store of potions and made sure they all had their scion crystals easily to hand. Once his saddle had been adjusted, Leo rigorously groomed and primed his feathers for the task ahead. After a long talk with the other Keyblade wielders that almost exceeded their time limit for Rhiannon's departure, they agreed the younger Masters would stay behind to help defend the town in case the attacker came back, or something else happened. Aqua gave a crystal to Riku, Bahamut, just in case, and the young man nodded grimly, not speaking.

Instead of riding on Leo's back, the other three took to their Gliders to more easily fan out and search, while Mel stayed with him. They only just made it before Rhiannon took off in her own gummi ship, and Leo had to strain at first to close the distance and fly alongside _Epona_.

Ven skimmed along in Leo's slipstream, feeling grim but determined. Lynn had done so much for them – without her Mel would not have been able to replace her Keyblades when they had been broken during that ambush that had led to Leo's capture. Without her Keyblades being broken, she would not have obtained the Dragons' Blade, the token of her station as the Keeper. And there were all the little things the Nobody had done; setting up security around the town, looking out for Kyo, putting a lot of her time and energy into helping the Committee, cataloguing and compiling data on Leo to help them better understand him and how to look after him…and so many instances where she had had their backs and thrown herself into danger to protect them, with a reckless disregard for her own safety.

They owed her this much, even if all they did was protect Rhiannon from her own anger.

Swinging back to compensate for a buffeting headwind, Ven came abreast with Mel on Leo's back, and turned to look at her. He couldn't see her face for her helmet, but he felt her gaze on him, and she nodded. He returned the gesture, and moved back a little to avoid Leo's wings as Mel urged him forward and he responded with a low roar, gathering his powerful muscles together for an extra burst of speed. Ven followed him through the Lanes Between, feeling anxious but determined, and he pushed on in Leo's wake.

XOXOX

It was dark, and then it was light, but it was red. Then she opened her eyes and it was blinding white that seared her retinas and she moaned, throwing an arm up uselessly to hide her face. It was so _hot_ , but cold too. Her skin burned, and something was constantly lashing against her unrelentingly, like sand paper dipped in ice. Every joint burned and ached like it was twice its usual size, and she couldn't move easily. Her limbs felt like they were full of something with the consistency of jelly and the weight of lead.

Her mouth itched and her tongue felt thick like it was coated with something thick and metallic tasting. She couldn't swallow. Breathing was something automatic, but it was laboured, and she had to force her tired lungs to keep working.

She didn't remember anything but this agony, as if she had only ever been a creature of pain. Her brow twitched with the shadow of a frown – she should have a bottle of water…she had been carrying it…but when she finally got her reluctant limbs to move, she couldn't find anything on her. Tatty, ragged clothes she dimly remembered from somewhere far distant clad her arms and legs, but they were ripped and offered little protection from the elements. Her bag, which she had been carrying at the time, was nowhere to be seen.

Struggling to remember what had happened, she rolled over and pushed slowly onto her hands and knees, breathing heavily with the effort it cost her just to do that. A dim memory came to her of someone doing the same thing, struggling just to sit up – had it been her? But she remembered it as though she were looking down on some else. Yes…Rosie had much longer hair than her, it was Rose she remembered.

That name, remembered clearly in her mind, gave way to many others that flowed through her like a comforting, crushing wave, and she remembered everything.

She was Master Evalyn, late of Master Solomon's care and tuition. Her best friends in the whole World were Kenny and Rhi. She had so many friends she had hurt by staying away, because…

Evie almost collapsed to the ground completely, tasting dirt in her mouth as she struggled to stay upright. She remembered with painful clarity that moment before she had been ripped apart, the stabbing pain in her chest before her Heart had been torn from her and she had sunk down, down into a black abyss, leaving her tattered remains to fend for itself, alone and in pain. That all consuming anger she had felt just before the blade went in, remembering only dimly that someone had stirred her to such rage…

She remembered the shadowed face that had done that to her, and then the pain and shock Lynn had recently felt just before Rhiannon had reached her.

Oh god, Rhi…

Evie cried, leaking precious moisture from her eyes that the desiccating winds whipped away greedily, draining her remaining life's force away.

 _I'm so sorry…_

It was a long time before she could muster the strength to move. She felt so tired, so nauseous…she threw up, almost choking and loosing even more fluid, and tried to roll herself into the recovery position. It didn't really work, and she had to wait for the convulsions to cease before she tried to sit up again, clumsily dabbing at her chin with the back of her shaking arm that felt like it was disintegrating.

It was too exposed here, her nose was burning from the sun and she needed to drink. She couldn't get up, and there was no one to help her. Through the physical pain and draining exhaustion, she felt a stab of panic. She would die here if she didn't do something.

And then a memory trickled into her mind. She was at home in her student digs, a lifetime ago it felt, in England. Rosie had been really unwell that week, and Evie and Samira had come back from a weekend jaunt up to London to find her lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, unable to get up and unable to turn back, too tired to even cry with frustration. And Samira had knelt down beside her, taken her hand and said, "Well, you're still moving forward, at least. I have your back."

It had taken almost an hour to get her upstairs and into bed, but they had managed it, and Rosie had been pleased with her achievement, even though she felt deeply humiliated by her body's weakness and that they had spent so much time and energy on her when they had essays to write.

"At least I made it." She had said later after a very long nap, with her ever-tired smile. "Even at a crawl, I'm still moving forward."

Evie steeled herself, and raised her head to look around. It was a barren, rocky wasteland. She knew vaguely where she was – at least, which World she was in – and saw that some way off was a deep ravine that offered shelter from the relentless sun and maybe even the wind. If Rose could do that, over and over no matter how tired and in pain she was, Evie could do this here and now. She thought of Kenny and Rhi, she thought of Samira; smiling encouragingly, holding out her hand to her the way she had to Rose when she had needed her support most. She thought of Rosie, who amid everything always had a sympathetic ear and a kind word to soothe your own worries, no matter what.

"You can do this,"

It was like they were all speaking to her at once, everyone she knew and loved, urging her on.

With a gargantuan effort, Evie got onto her knees, and started to crawl. She had to stop every few paces, most of her steps little more than awkward shuffles, but she gritted her teeth and kept going.

She only just made it into the shade, her legs still in the glaring sun that burned through the holes in her clothing, before her limbs gave out and she collapsed onto the ground, shaking hard and feeling thirstier than she ever had in her life.

Keep going. _Keep going_ …

The mantra slowly faded as her mind sunk into warm, welcoming darkness. Her mind then scattered itself on the winds – she wondered if this was what depersonalisation felt like. It was like her head was wrapped in cotton wool and her mind was floating away, but she was still solidly trapped within the confines of her own body. She thought she could hear something above the howling of the relentless wind, but she couldn't focus herself beyond the thought that it would be so much easier to let go and float downwards…

Rhi's face, stained with tears, begging her not to do this to her, appeared in her minds eyes, and Evie cringed away from it, trying to fight the tears that leaked out of her eyes and gave even more precious water to the parched atmosphere.

 _Hang on, hang on, hang on…_

If she didn't find water soon to replace what she had lost, she would die.

 _Not now. Not like this._

 _Oh Rhi, Kenny…where are you?_

XOXOX


	3. New Beginnings

**AN: had hoped to have this posted sooner, apologies for the lack of festive material in this chapter xD Keyblade Christmas will be late this year, I have a lot of angst building in the plot for the foreseeable future… ;)**

 _ **New Beginnings**_

The Keyblade Graveyard was a desolate, barren landscape haunted by an ancient lament for the wounds of the past – harsh and unforgiving in its climate, devoid of any comfort or human life.

Rhiannon was certain that this was the place where Evie had ceased to be, and Lynn was then born disorientated into the World. Mel couldn't dowse to search for her, and she could be anywhere out here, if she was anywhere at all.

It felt fruitless, but Terra persevered. He owed Lynn, and he could hardly let Rhiannon go by herself. They had a greater chance of finding Evalyn by working together, at the very least.

They split into two groups; Aqua and Ven went with Rhiannon, who's single-minded determination burned hotter than the blistering sun above, while Terra stayed with Mel and Leo. In theory, if Rhiannon's brightly blazing focused power of intent didn't find her friend first, maybe Leo's nose could. Rhiannon had given Leo an old scarf that had belonged to Evie, one that Lynn had never touched, and he had familiarised himself with the difference in scent before they set off.

Mel and Aqua kept in regular contact the rest of that day and into the evening. They all camped where they were, eating dried travelling food and huddling together in the freezing night, Terra silently thankful for the tent of Leo's wings that kept their collective body heat in. They kept hydrated by taking it in turns to cast low-level ice spells and keep the frozen liquid in water skins under their clothes to melt for drinking.

Leo walked in wide, sweeping circles as they slowly covered ground, and Mel marked it off on a map every time they swept an area and found no signs of any life. Leo kept his nostrils flared and his ears pricked for anything unusual, or any sudden changes in their environment. Terra kept his own eyes peeled, but he couldn't discern anything from the featureless rocks, and the dust got in his eyes more than once so he had to stop and clear them. They continued this way for all of that day and well into the next, searching constantly and keeping tabs with Aqua and the others.

Mel looked up suddenly, about half an hour after the sun had reached its zenith on the third day that they had been in this World, looking straight ahead.

"What is it?" Terra asked her urgently as Leo looked back at them, ears pricked for any new information.

"Ven's found something…" Mel said, staring into the distance. "Some tracks. Aqua can't talk; she's trying to keep up with Rhiannon. She's moving so fast,"

Terra nodded, taking a deep breath. Hoping they were having more luck, he scanned the horizon once more. He sat up straighter and touched Mel's arm, and instantly had her full attention. Leo snapped his head around to find what they were looking at, and curled his lips back in a snarl, grating and growling dangerously deep in his chest.

Heartless, some distance away, steadily making their way towards something around a large rock formation that jutted out of the landscape some distance away. Mel sent a quick mental message to Aqua, and touched Leo's shoulder when she was ready. He spun round and charged full tilt across the badlands, eating the ground with his considerable stride as he moved at a flat out run, kicking up a spray of dust and rock as he went. They had to hang on to the saddle, his back flexing with the predatory motion of his gait, making for an uncomfortable ride.

Leo rounded the outcropping and kept running, skidding a little as they turned the corner on loose stones and bits of scree that littered the ground. Then they saw what the Heartless were seeking in this wasteland; a thin stream of smoke was hanging in the air from a recently made fire.

"They're not over there, are they?" Terra yelled over the sound of the wind both from the sky and from Leo's speed.

"No, they went north of us." Mel called back, taking a firm hold of the grips and settling into a crouch before she sat up carefully, watching their quarry intently. "They must be travellers."

The Heartless had been heading for a small encampment, nestled in a smaller outcrop of rock that sheltered a little dip in the landscape. A tiny spring welled up from deep below the earth and bubbled quietly in a secluded corner, sheltered from the sun and wind by the rock formation. Terra leapt down from Leo's back with Mel, ducking and rolling as he landed to avoid injury from that height, and turned to help Mel to her feet as Leo bellowed his challenge and dived into the thick of things.

The Neoshadows shrieked and scattered, but Leo got most of them, and Terra went after the rest; only one of the things got away in the end, fleeing for its life and no longer a threat. Once the fight was over – relatively quickly – he turned to look at the two people who had screamed and tried to hide when Leo had rushed into their camp. On closer inspection, Terra saw they were barely more than boys; one of them looked less than fifteen. He was skinny and shaking like a leaf, with dark brown hair and deep brown eyes set in a face of olive coloured skin. The other boy was older; perhaps closer to seventeen years, and he spoke viciously to cover up his terror once Leo sat down and curled up like a cat to look less threatening. He glowered at the boy, who didn't notice the subtle twitching of his tail and nose that were the first signs of impending anger in the dragon.

"How dare you attack us like that!" he shouted at them, and then stopped in surprise when Mel stepped forward to greet him. He was paler than his companion, and his nose was bright red from the unrelenting sun. His hair was likewise dark, and caked with dust and dirt, and his eyes were a dark, deep red colour that almost looked brown in the shade. Red and purple eyes were uncommon in humans, but not unheard of – Rhiannon had lilac coloured eyes, that from a distance and under certain lights looked grey, and from the photos he had seen of Evie he knew the woman had very bright red eyes.

Mel held out her hands in a universal gesture of good will to show she had no weapons in her hands, and he made no move to reach out to her, so she said. "I'm sorry, but we didn't mean to attack you. We were after the Heartless."

He regarded her coldly, and then looked away. He saw Terra approaching, and turned to him. "Who are you? I demand to know who you are and what you want from us!"

"We were following the Heartless, those monsters you saw just now." Terra explained calmly. "I'm Terra, this is Mel, and that's Leo over there. We're not going to hurt you,"

"Where did you come from?" the boy spat, his companion hovering anxiously several paces away, cradling something wrapped in canvas sacking.

"Far away from here," Terra smiled ironically, certain that the pair of them were too. "What about you? Have you travelled far?"

"That's none of your business!" he spat again viciously, his hands balled into fists and his arms shaking with fear and rage.

"Please," Mel said softly. "We want to help. What's your name?"

He looked at her hard, as if surprised and unhappy that she was still there, and then looked at Terra again. The man was bristling more at his rudeness towards Mel than his venomous tone, but the boy was obviously scared and out of his depth, so Terra ignored it for now.

"Get out, all of you! We don't need your help," he screamed, and leapt backwards when Leo suddenly stood up and leant forward, his eyes impossibly wide and his nostrils working double time.

"Leo? What is it?" Mel asked sharply, and Leo slowly paced forward, nose to the ground, sniffing hard on the trail of something. The younger boy whimpered and tried to hang on to the thing in his arms, but he couldn't lift it fast enough, and he ran away when Leo made a beeline for it. He stared at the bundle like nothing else in the world existed to him, his nose working hard on the scent it was giving off.

"What is it?" Terra asked urgently as Mel ran to Leo's side. She touched his leg as she passed, and knelt down by the sacking. She tentatively reached towards it, checking for danger, before she carefully lifted a corner. Terra went after her quickly when her hands flew to her mouth in shock, her eyes as wide as Leo's; he had bent down to look as well, still scenting the air wildly, snorting with either anxiety or excitement, it was hard to tell.

Terra came to a halt by Mel's side, and felt shocked himself when he saw what was in the bag. Curled up awkwardly in the little nest of canvas, was a skinny, deathly grey, skeletal looking lizard with black, blotchy skin covered in a very sparse layer of wispy white fluff. Two bony protrusions, like the undeveloped wings on a baby bird, jutted from the joints behind the shoulders, and spines stuck out at odd angles down its back, leaning crazily in every direction as though they were punch drunk.

Very slowly and very gently, Mel reached into the bag and lifted the thing up. It was too weak to protest, though its paws flexed and shook as it tried to cling to the canvas for security. She pulled it into her arms and cradled it against her chest, her jaw hanging open.

It was a Keyblade Dragon, a hatchling.

Terra looked down into her astonished face, then jumped when the older boy flew at her.

"Get away from it you bitch-!"

Leo roared, and the hatchling trembled at the sudden explosion of noise so close by. He reached forward and with a single swipe of his front paw the boy went flying, landing on his back a few feet away, winded but otherwise unharmed. Leo hissed menacingly, and the younger boy cried out and hid his face in his hands, cowering into the rocks for protection.

Terra put himself firmly between them and Mel, holding out his right hand and summoning forth his Keyblade. The younger boy peeked through his fingers, and saw this. He lowered his hands to gape at Terra anew with an emotion he couldn't identify. Was it fear? Or awed recognition?

"Terra," Mel said faintly, stroking the little dragon's muzzle. She looked up, her wide eyes now full of fear, and spoke with a catch in her voice. "She's dying."

XOXOX

Aqua couldn't keep apace with Rhiannon, and she slowly fell behind. Ven was pressing on valiantly, but he would need to rest before long. Aqua tried to touch with Mel's mind, but she was busy fighting some Heartless. Her heart constricted for a moment with fear, but she had Terra and Leo with her, so she had little to worry about. Neoshadows weren't much of a threat to her, even on her own.

Rhiannon gave a cry, and Aqua looked up. Ven was running with renewed vigour, and Aqua summoned her strength and ignored her thirst as she plunged after them.

They had wandered along the edge of a high ridge of rock, and as they had continued on they had found a cleft that ran through the ridge like a small mountain pass. There were some faint tracks they had followed here, and as she followed after Ven she saw some more, fresher signs that someone had been dragged through here recently.

"EVIE!"

By the time Aqua caught up, breathing hard, Rhiannon was crouched beside a prone figure on the ground half way along the bottom of the ravine through the rocky pass. It was a woman: tall, long limbed and very skinny; her fair skin was red from exposure to the sun, she must have dragged herself into the shade, and her hair was a matted mess of dirt and blood. Her clothes were ripped and filthy, and her lips were dry and chapped from the merciless, desiccating wind.

Rhiannon was rambling incoherently, shaking her friend and trying to rouse her, but she didn't move. Ven took his water flask out and Aqua carefully felt for a pulse, fearing the worst, but she found it – very faint and irregular, but there nonetheless. Aqua helped Rhiannon roll her onto her back, and then pulled her up and leant her against Rhiannon so she could give her a little water drop by drop.

Evie looked exactly like Lynn, except her hair was much longer and even on both sides, where Lynn's had been chin length on one side and cropped short on the other. Very carefully, Aqua opened her eyelids, and saw what she had only seen in photographs before; a bright, cheerful red iris, though it was glazed over with unconsciousness. Ven turned to look back the way they had come with a worried frown, and Aqua gave her a little more water.

Something in her moved, and she began to stir groggily.

"Evie? Eaves, pet, can ya hear me?" Rhiannon asked urgently, smoothing the hair back off her face. "Evie! Evie, say sometin'!"

She took a deep, shuddering breath that rasped over her chapped lips, and her head lolled to one side.

"R-rhi…" she groaned, and fell still again.

"Ven," Aqua said, and he turned to her instantly. He knelt down and continued to give her enough water to wet her mouth while Aqua stood up and looked out in the direction she knew Terra and the others were. She reached with her mind, but Mel didn't respond. She paused for a moment in panic, but she could sense Mel there, somewhere relatively nearby – she just wasn't responding.

 _Mel_. Aqua said urgently, wondering why she wasn't focusing on their near constant stream of communication for the last couple of days.

Mel stirred dimly in response, and then alarm as she reached out to Aqua suddenly, flooding her with her own sense of bewilderment and fear. _What is it?_

 _We found Evie_. Aqua felt Mel's surprise and relief.

 _Is she all right?_

 _She's badly dehydrated, and I think the Heartless might have attacked her, but she's alive_.

 _Thank God. Aqua…_ she felt her hesitation. _We've found a hatchling_ ,

Aqua's jaw dropped as Mel sent her a mental picture of a ruined campsite, and then of a little bald dragon hatchling in her arms. Mel's anxiety pulsed powerfully through the connection, and Aqua realised quickly that the little dragon was barely clinging to life.

"Ven!" she gasped, clutching her heart. He jumped to his feet, almost spilling the water as he turned to her quickly in alarm. "They've- they've found another dragon!"

Ven's eyes went wide. "They _what_?"

The woman on the ground groaned softly, and Rhiannon started jabbering away, stroking her face and assuring her everything would be all right, looking more and more distressed herself.

"What are we gonna do?" Ven asked worriedly once Aqua had relayed the information Mel had sent her.

Rhiannon wouldn't leave Evie, and they couldn't leave them alone out here. The obvious choice would have been to get Terra to go back to the ship and bring it and Leo over to them, but they had a situation of their own to deal with over there, and it was unlikely they could move everyone their end quickly enough to get the ship down here. There were a couple of youngsters – Light only knew what they were doing out here – who were giving Terra a very hard time while Mel and Leo tended as best they could to the hatchling.

Aqua bit her lip, sorting through her options before she decided to call on Riku. She had practised mind touching mostly with Mel, but she and Riku had been able to establish a connection as well. He was actually quite good at it, much to Sora's chagrin, who had trouble with the exercise. She calmed herself down and sought Riku with her mind, breathing long and slow until she found him and reached out to make a connection.

She felt him jump with surprise at the contact, but he quickly recovered and his answering reply was swift. _Yes?_

 _Riku, I need you to come to the Keyblade Graveyard._

 _What's happened?_

She quickly showed him an image of Rhiannon and Evie on the ground, and the images Mel had shown her. _We can't go anywhere, and they both need medical attention. Can you get here with your ship?_

 _Hang on_ , she felt Riku pull away as his focus shifted to his surroundings, and she waited anxiously until he came back and said simply, _We're coming_.

Aqua sighed and turned to look at Ven, who was watching worriedly. "He's coming with the others, we just have to sit tight."

"I'll make some more water," Ven said, raising his hand a summoning a small lump of ice, which he dropped into his flask and held close to his body to melt.

Aqua checked Evie's vital signs, and gave her a little more water before they laid her down in the recovery position. Rhiannon kept a tense vigil while Aqua spoke again to Mel, who was tending to the hatchling while Terra tried to convince the two boys at the campsite to come with them. Something else caught Mel's attention, and while she was seeing to it, Aqua waited patiently, touching briefly with Riku who let her know they were on their way as fast as they could.

Suddenly, Mel's alarm and rare anger welled up inside Aqua like as though it were her own, and she thought she could hear Leo's roar even from this distance. When she turned to look at Ven and Rhiannon, she knew they had heard it with their ears, too.

"What the hell what that?" Rhiannon asked shakily. She was used to Leo's bluffing, but his true anger scared her.

"Aqua?" Ven demanded, white faced.

It was hard to make out, because in her agitation Mel couldn't keep the link between them stable. From the fractured images and the rage she could feel bubbling in her stomach, Aqua pieced it all together and felt quite sick.

"It's not their campsite. Someone was there before," Aqua swallowed and licked her dry lips. In their haste to get liquids into Evie, they hadn't seen to their own thirsts, and her throat was burning. "There's…there's a couple of bodies. I think…one of them is a child."

Ven sat motionless for a moment, before he got up in one fluid movement, his Keyblade materialising into his hand as he swung it upward.

"Ven! Where are you going?"

"Stay here!" he said without looking at her. He was on his Glider and speeding away across the wastes before she could even stand up, let alone object.

"What?" Rhiannon asked weakly, a hand on Evie's brow.

Aqua shook her head and said faintly, "I don't know…it looks like the camp was attacked, and those two boys found it…"

Mel was full of anger and sorrow, and Aqua severed the connection between them. Ven would know how to find them and bring them back here, and Riku was on his way with Sora, Kairi and Lea, with Mickey bringing up the rear by his own means. She didn't have to worry about them for the moment; Mel's anger was very rare but when it was stoked it exploded suddenly and violently. She would speak to her when Mel was calm again.

Until then, they just had to wait.

XOXOX

Ven kept an arm around Mel's shoulder, holding her trembling form close as she held the little dragon tenderly, focusing on her breathing. Leo hung his head over her shoulder, staring at the first of his kind he had ever seen in physical form, his nostrils flaring over and over as he filled his nose with the scent of his own kin.

Terra was watching the two boys closely. He had given them some of their food, and melted water for them to drink, and had told them they would help if they did exactly as he told them and didn't cause anymore trouble. They hadn't ventured their names, and the older boy watched them all suspiciously, especially Leo, who was oblivious to everything except that little dragon in Mel's arms.

A closer inspection of the campsite had revealed a lot. There were a couple of broken and scorched timber frames that had once held up tents of canvas; a few bags remained from the camp that had been torn and scattered across the ground along with their meagre contents. Broken glass, some cutlery, and a wicked looking dagger that had been hidden in the wreckage of one of the tents. Behind the rock formation they had found two bodies stuffed under a large boulder, horribly mutilated and partially burnt.

One of them had been a child, who couldn't have been much older than ten.

Mel was livid.

The more Mel had looked, the more she had found signs and energetic traces that a fight had taken place here a few weeks ago. The state the bodies were in… He tried not to think about it too much, and focused on practical things like tidying up and making sure everyone had enough to drink before he turned his attention to Mel.

She was still shaking, clutching the dying hatchling to her breast and keeping herself as calm as she could. Her green eyes blazed, and seemed to forbid any conversation. Instead, he kept an arm around her, and occasionally gave her a squeeze to let her know he was consciously thinking of her. She said nothing, but he knew she was aware; she leant against him, every so often resting her cheek on his chest, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to steady herself.

Before they had met, Mel had been wondering for over a decade by herself across the Worlds. She had had to fend for herself since the age of twelve, and she knew how harsh life could be, how cruel the world could be. Whenever she could, she helped people, especially children, who in her mother culture were held precious and were fiercely protected.

When she had seen the child behind the rocks…she hadn't been able to speak. Ven wouldn't have been surprised if she had actually started spitting blood. There was an ugly mass of scar tissue on her back from where she had been burned by a stereotypical peasant mob, for being what they thought was a witch when she had tried to protect them from the Heartless. It must have conjured up a lot of painful memories in her. She had once said to him that she thought there was no greater honour or responsibility than to protect and nurture the next generation. Steady and calm as she usually was, she could not abide any kind of abuse towards children.

This whole episode galled everything she stood for.

Leo suddenly flicked his ears and lifted his head, but didn't turn his gaze away until they could hear Lea and Sora shouting. Ven stood up, leaning over Mel to protect her and the hatchling from the wind, and waved them both down. Mickey was hard on their heels, and they set to work quickly.

Terra had tried the soft approach, but Lea wasn't having any of it. He cajoled and bullied the pair of them, making the older boy stop and splutter before he started shouting and screaming, his voice wavering as though his vocal chords were ripping with the strain. Sora stepped back from the ensuing fight uncertainly, and was relieved when Ven pushed him towards Mel and went to help Terra.

Eventually, they got the two boys onto _Highwind_ while Mickey and Sora scouted the area, but found nothing further. Riku and Kairi were helping the others get back to _Epona_ , and then they would return and travel back on their own ship. Mel cradled the little bundle of bony limbs in her arms, wedging herself into a corner well out of the way, her face becoming more and more grim. She asked Ven to travel with Leo, who was too big to fit inside the ship, and was starting to whine and dance sideways with anxiety, not helped by the fact that he was now separated from Mel.

"Hey," Ven murmured, rubbing his nose gently. "Sssh, Leo. It's okay."

The dragon whined and then fell silent, his eyes closed shut tight as he gathered himself. Then he opened them and looked Ven full in the face, his shoulders still shaking a little.

"We'll get them back to Radiant Garden," he said softly, stroking Leo's face. "They'll both be fine, and we can help the boys too. It's okay now,"

Leo grated and whined high in his throat before licking Ven's cheek. He then leaned his face heavily against his body, the way he did usually just with Mel, and snuffled into his clothes for comfort.

The ride back to Radiant Garden was tense but uneventful; Ven sat in the saddle and kept patting Leo's neck to reassure him as they flew. It started to become more interesting when they arrived; after the initial rush of getting Evie out of the ship and onto a stretcher so she could be moved swiftly to the infirmary in the castle, Terra stepped out of _Highwind_ with a satirical twist to his lips, something large and teardrop shaped in the crook of his arm. The older boy stormed out of the ship, hand raised and mouth open to curse at him some more, but Lea grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and yanked him off his feet, back inside the ship with not a word and such a fierce scowl that finally quieted the boy's ire.

Ven stared at the object in Terra's hands, and Leo bent his head to sniff at it, wide eyed again and twitching nervously.

"Another one," Terra said, hefting the smooth egg in one hand, stroking it carefully with the other.

Mel walked quickly off the ship and made a beeline for the castle without stopping to talk to any of them. Having seen Rhiannon and the stretcher off, Aqua ran to meet her, looking down at the hatchling in her arms before leading Mel by the shoulder up to the main doors, Leo jumping up to follow them after a last quick glance at Terra's arms.

"So at least one of them wields a Keyblade." Ven said to Terra wonderingly.

Terra sighed, almost impatiently, before he handed the egg to Ven. "You take it. I'll try and get the boys to come quietly."

Ven cradled the egg gently in his arms and went to follow after Leo, stroking the shell and inwardly comparing it to the egg Leo had hatched from. It was a darker grey, and the colour of the oily sheen on it was hard to guess at. He was sure Mel would have a better idea once she had a chance to look; the hatched chick needed their attention first.

When he finally found the room they were in, down the hall from where Evie had been taken, and with a large balcony where Leo could stick his head through the open double doors and participate in events inside, Aqua stared at Ven in drowsy amazement.

"Is there no end?" she asked tiredly, looking at the egg in his hands.

"Apparently not," he gave her a weary smile, and carefully placed the egg on a trolley pressed against the wall, wrapping it with a couple of blankets he found in a cupboard before he turned his attention to the hatchling.

Mel had likewise bundled the little dragon in blankets, and she was attached to a drip, which a junior doctor was inspecting carefully. He was fairly young, and startled by Leo's intent stare, and was quite glad to leave the room once he had done all he could.

"Well?" Aqua asked in a tight voice as Mel placed a chair by the side of the bed and sat down, hands on her knees.

"We wait." She said tensely.

Aqua looked from Mel to Ven, and they both turned to Leo, who was staring at the bed and oblivious to all else, his nose still working hard. Aqua asked Ven if he was hungry, and he suddenly realised he was ravenous, so she quietly left to get them all something to eat, and Ven dragged another chair up beside Mel. She turned to look at him; her face lined with worry, and leant her elbows forward on her knees, fingers laced together under her chin.

When she finally did speak, Aqua had been and gone some time ago with hot sub sandwiches and some tea sent up from Aerith, and Terra had been by to check on them all before he and Aqua went to deal with the two boys.

"She's so weak…" Mel said, her voice trembling.

Ven didn't say anything, but he reached for her hand.

"How can anyone do that to a child…?" she whispered.

Looking down, he still said nothing – he couldn't think of anything to say. But he squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back, gripping him like he was a lifeline in a storm. After a while, she took a deep, shuddering breath, and seemed to collect herself.

"Did you bury them?"

"As best we could."

Mel gazed at the little hatchling, who stirred weakly. She reached forward and stroked her chin, and a pair of dull blue eyes opened, staring ahead into nothing. Lips parted, and no sound came. Ears twitched in response to the deep, low thrumming that came from Leo's chest, like a very quiet purr that seemed to rouse the little dragon. Her claws flexed and she tried to move her head, but the effort was too much for her and she laid still again, her chest barely moving with her breath.

Ven let out his own breath out in a sigh, and saw that Mel had been holding hers too.

"If she survives the night, she'll have a chance." Mel said. "If she survives two days, more than a chance."

Ven sighed again, more forcefully, and she fixed him in place with a look.

"You need to sleep too, you know."

"When I know this dragon will live." She said quietly, and he knew her will was set.

Doubting he would be able to argue the point, Ven offered to get her some more tea or maybe hot chocolate; she consented, not looking at him, her eyes still on the hatchling. Ven left and returned as quickly as he could, handing her a steaming mug, which she took absently, still watching the dragon. Leo had curled up on the balcony and was dozing, still making that deep purring sound and flicking his ears every so often, alert to every movement they made.

"Oh!" Mel said suddenly, making both Leo and Ven jump. "Ven, I'm so sorry!"

"For what?" he asked, nonplussed. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"You made and brought me this chocolate, and I haven't drunk any! It's getting cold," she looked miserable, and he wanted to crush her to his chest for being so silly.

"Here," he said gently, taking the mug from her and warming it through again with a spell. "Better drink it up fast," he said playfully as he handed it back.

Mel gulped it down, scolding her tongue in the process. "Oh, I'm a mess…" she said, dabbing uselessly at the hot chocolate stain in her lap.

Ven handed her a damp cloth and gave her a hug once she had cleaned herself up. "I think you need a nap,"

"I can't leave her. Oh! Where the egg?" she tried to jump up, but Ven grabbed her wrists before she could do so, stilling the mug before any more could be spilt.

"Over there, snug as a bug in a rug." He smiled at her. "Calm down, you don't have to do everything by yourself." She still had trouble sometimes adjusting to the idea that she had people to watch her back. Not so much anymore, but there were times – like now – when Mel was ready to do everything herself, forgetting that he and the others were there to help.

"Is Evie okay?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure they're doing what they can."

Mel looked a little dubious, so Ven volunteered to go and check for her. Rhiannon was sitting much as Mel was, staring at her friend's face intently and not budging for anything. A sandwich sat untouched on her lap and a cold mug of tea was perched on the edge of the sideboard.

Evalyn was also shacked up to a drip, and there was another needled stuck in her other arm feeding her something, whether drugs or nutrition Ven didn't know, and he didn't intrude long. She was badly sun burnt, and covered in cuts and bruises; she looked very ill indeed, but stable. He reported this to Mel, who nodded, almost to herself, and turned her attention back onto the chick.

Ven sat down beside her and looked at Leo, who returned his gaze anxiously, tail twitching as he settled down again to get some rest. Ven was daydreaming when he saw Mel listing to one side some time later, and he reached out to grab her before she slid off her chair. She jumped with surprise when he pulled her against him, waking up instantly and staring into his face.

"What is it?"

"You were falling asleep," Ven struggled to hide his smile. "I don't feel too tired, you go take a nap. I'll wake you up later for the next shift, or if anything happens."

Mel regarded him steadily before she slowly got to her feet and went to Leo. She got down beside him, curled up against his body, and he nuzzled her close, chirruping softly. The change in the sounds he made caused the hatchling to stir again, but only faintly, and Ven was the only one who saw this. After the last few days and the shock of the last few hours, Mel fell asleep quickly, sandwiched between Leo's muzzle and his belly, and he drew his wing over her, turning his attention for the first time away from the hatchling.

Ven watched Leo for a while longer after he had hidden them both from view, and then turned to look at the tiny little chick. Leo had been a bony, skinny little thing when he had fallen out of his egg with a sharp crack, but he had been instantly mobile, and very lively. Ven smiled when he thought of it, how Leo had almost pitched himself off the table when he got his ungainly limbs in a tangle, and Mel had dived to catch him. And she had just cuddled him up in her arms like it was second nature, as though handling baby dragons was something that happened all the time.

This dragon was smaller, Ven thought, though it was hard to tell after Leo had grown so much; he couldn't quite remember without checking their notes. There were no horns on her head, and along her spine were strange spikes that looked a little like those on Leo's tail. Very gently, Ven put his fingers under her head and lifted it a little. Blue eyes opened and stared out at nothing, but a faint sound came from her throat – a cracked, broken whine of discomfort.

Leo roused himself, sliding his head out from under his wing to fix Ven with a stare. Carefully, Ven laid her head down on the bed again, and leant back in his chair away from the little dragon. He met Leo's eyes; the dragon inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring, and a curl dragged his lips back in a snarl. That in itself would not have given Ven cause for concern, being accustomed to Leo's way of communicating without real spoken language, but the flash in his eyes was enough to give him pause for a moment.

Ven sighed to himself, with a tired smile. Just as Mel took it on herself to care for others, so would Leo – only he would in all likelihood be more tyrannical about it…

XOXOX

Aqua pressed a hand to her forehead, breathing deeply and willing away the headache that was threatening to worsen. She was sat on the wide sill of a window that overlooked the main castle courtyard, in one of the small side rooms off the main corridor of the infirmary, trying to gather her scattered wits.

It was, as always, utter chaos; Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald and Goofy were still searching and keeping watch about the town while she and Terra had seen to the two boys they had found in the Graveyard. Mel and Ven were dealing with the chick and the egg with Leo, and Lynn – or rather, Evie – was being well cared for and Rhiannon never left her side, so there at least were a couple of things Aqua did not have to worry about for the moment.

The boys were called Jarred and Tarquin, the former being very disagreeable and resistant to any offer of help. He had hit out at Aqua, and if Cloud hadn't moved quite so quickly she thought Terra might have actually hit the boy; his expression had been so livid. The younger boy just curled in on himself and refused to speak to anyone, while the other made an awful lot of noise and many threats, demanding they be release and that the egg and dragon be returned at once. Aqua had been willing at first to put it down to shock at what had happened, and fear of the unfamiliar surroundings and faces, but the longer it dragged on the more she thought it was his nature, and probably cultural conditioning. Jarred had been exceptionally rude to Aerith when she brought them some hot soup, and when Aqua spoke to Mel about their meeting, she said that he had not spoken directly nor even looked at her, except to give her a succession of filthy looks. All Ven had to say on the subject was, "Hmm," with a hard set to his mouth.

Opening her eyes, Aqua gazed out of the window into the gathering dusk, running her fingers across the rim of the mug she was holding in her lap. She was preparing in her mind a letter to send to Yen Sid – she felt out of her depth and wanted his support while they sorted this mess out. Lynn's assassination and Evie's return would have been enough on its own – now there were potentially two new Keyblade Wielders, a hatched chick and an unhatched egg as well to consider.

Aqua sat up straighter and set the mug down when she saw a familiar figure walking across the courtyard. Rosie had her heavy satchel slung casually across her back, and she was holding a large Tupperware box of something with a small stack of books balanced on top. Her gait was slow and easy, she was in no hurry today, and Baldrick sauntered along at her heels, just as laid back as she was. She started and stopped suddenly, and Aqua watched Terra race across the courtyard towards her, pulling the things in her arms closer so she didn't drop them as he reached out for her arm to steady himself. He had skidded to such an abrupt halt beside her that he overshot and nearly tripped up. She reached a hand out to help him; her expression wasn't clearly visible from here, but Aqua could imagine the alarm on her face. Terra spoke to her, gesturing agitatedly with his hands, doubled over after his sprint.

The Mage looked up at him for a long moment with her mouth hanging open, before she turned and ran so fast Aqua almost didn't keep up; she had never seen Rosie move so quickly. Terra started to run again, on some other errand, but he turned to look at the cracked box and pile of books she had dropped on the flagstones, and bent to pick them up.

Aqua jumped up and ran out into the corridor, guessing which staircase Rosie would take to reach the ward. Faster than she had expected, the Mage burst through the double doors in a blind panic and Aqua waved her down, holding the door to Evie's room open.

"In here!"

Rosie flashed past without a word, her satchel swinging into Aqua's side with a dull thud as she went, making her wince. She almost crashed into the hospital bed, unable to check herself in time, and her bag again swung round and stuck the metal frame, jolting Rhiannon out of her doze. She sprang to her feet, about to clout the intruder, but saw who it was and slumped back into her chair with a weary sigh.

"My God what happened?" Rosie said, her voice shaking, reaching out with both hands to stroke the woman's face. "Oh Evie…"

"Dehydrated. Cracked ribs, a couple'a bruises." Rhiannon said dully, her voice rough with disuse from the last twenty-four hours she had been keeping her vigil at the bedside.

Rosie stroked her face again, shaking. "Look at those burns! Oh my God," she suddenly got into a flap, trying to tug her satchel off and getting tangled in the strap; it caught on something pinned to the collar of the shirt she was wearing, and she let out a sob when she failed to pull it free.

Aqua stepped lightly up behind her, and gently detangled her garments from the bag, and took it from her, feeling a substantial weight in the satchel today. Like her, Rosie had charmed it with a spell of holding so she could carry more books, and it felt much heavier than usual.

Rosie turned to look at Aqua, tears starting to fall from her eyes, and she gestured uselessly, at a loss for words before raising a hand to her face.

"Here," Aqua said gently, setting the bag aside and drawing up another chair for her. "Sit down."

"Thank you," Rosie said in a small voice, sitting as close to Evie as she could, looking at her unconscious, sunburnt face. "Oh Rhia…what happened?"

Rhiannon didn't respond for a moment, and when she finally did she made an impatient gesture, saying nothing, but a shadow of her anger lit up her eyes and brooked no further questions on the matter.

Aqua put her hands on Rosie's shoulders and leant down to speak quietly in her ear. "I'll tell you later. Do you need anything? A cup of tea?"

"What? Oh- yes, if there's any going. If not, don't worry." She wiped her eyes clear and smoothed her hair back, before bending down to pat Baldrick, who had curled himself up under her chair.

Aqua went back to the room she had been hiding in and filled the electric kettle. While it was boiling she took out pen and paper and sat staring at it blankly until the kettle stilled. Then she set about making Rosie's tea; since she had become a regular visitor to Radiant Garden, Lynn had stocked her favourite brand of English breakfast tea, and Aqua had learnt how to make it just right. When she went back into the room, Rosie was wringing her hands in her lap, biting her lip and looking very pale. She jumped out of her skin when Aqua put a hand on her shoulder, and accepted the tea with a gracious nod of her head, unable to bring herself to speak. The freezer box and books were on a small table in the corner; Terra was sticking his head out of the room Mel and Ven were in when she came outside, and he flagged Aqua down.

"I sent a message to Yen Sid," he told them all once she was in the room and he had closed the door.

"Oh, I was going to do that-" Aqua said apologetically, and he waved her concern away tiredly.

"I don't think we can deal with this on our own." He said tiredly, rubbing his temples before he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jarred can use magic – he just attacked Yuffie with a powerful Firaga spell. And we had to pull Sora off him,"

Ven slowly raised a hand to his forehead and bowed low over his lap with a pained expression. Mel said nothing, and fastidiously rearranged the blankets around the hatchling. Leo lowered his head, flicking his ears and snorting softly to himself, tail thrashing on the balcony outside with a soft whisper of feathers over rough tiles.

"Is he the Keyblade Wielder?" Ven asked with resignation in his tone, looking at Terra through his fingers unwillingly.

"I don't know. They could both be. The other boy, Tarquin – he's really jumpy and upset, and he keeps asking about the egg. I can't separate them without the older boy getting physically violent, and I doubt Mel wants him in here."

"That egg leaves my sight over my dead body." Mel shot at Terra, an edge to her voice that was almost vicious and had everyone – Leo included – staring at her in amazement and alarm.

Mel blinked suddenly, and wrapped her arms around herself, head bowed. "Sorry…" she finally mumbled desolately.

Aqua turned to look at Terra, who looked back helplessly. If Rhiannon weren't in a state, Aqua would have called upon her for help. As it was, she had enough on her own plate to deal with. Aqua didn't like to think of how she would cope if Ven or Terra were, well… She shivered and flinched away from the thought. One thing at a time, she told herself inwardly.

Ven slowly got up and went to put an arm around Mel's shoulders. She fiddled with the blankets again before she went to check on the egg, and came back to the bedside and leant against Ven for support. Leo clicked his tongue and started crooning. Aqua caught her breath when she heard the hatchling respond weakly, and then again a little more loudly.

"Is she any better?"

Mel gave Aqua a watery smile, her eyes rimmed with tiredness. "Yes. She survived the night, and if she's all right tomorrow morning I think she'll pull through. But she's very weak…"

After a moment of comfortable silence, they set about making plans; Terra and Aqua would meet with Yen Sid when he arrived, and with Mickey they would discuss how best to proceed with regard to the two boys. Mel would look after the dragons, and Ven would look after her. Evie now had Rhiannon and Rosie to watch over her – one thing less to worry about for now. Aqua took a deep breath, reminding herself that they were not alone in this, and for the moment it was all under control. Just as Mel was saying she was famished, there came a soft knock at the door and Rosie slid inside.

"I was going to get something to eat for Rhiannon, can I get you anything?" she asked softly.

Aqua left the corridor with her, motivated to stretch her legs and get some fresh air as much as by her hunger. She stretched her arms above her head as they descended the stairs, groaning faintly.

"Every time I think things might be calming down," she said to Rosie with a sigh. " _This_ happens…"

"Ahh, as my grandfather would say: the ancient and most noble Law of Sod."

Aqua gave Rosie a long look, which turned into a wry smile when Rosie hid her mouth behind the back of her hand and didn't quite manage to stifle her laughter.

"I think some fish and chips are in order. Evalyn will appreciate waking up to the smell, I'm sure." She regarded Aqua carefully from the corner of her vision before adding, "You look dead on your feet, Aqua."

Aqua passed a hand over her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm fine."

She knew without looking at the Mage that she hadn't been quite believed, but nothing more was said other than to comment on how many portions of chips they should order, and whether they could get a haunch of something for Leo to eat, for which Aqua was grateful. For a glorious half an hour, she didn't worry about anything more pressing than who should pick up the tab – an argument she would have won if Leon hadn't stepped in and taken care of it for them.

XOXOX

On the seventh day after Lynn had faded, a loosely grouped council was held by the Wielders of the Keyblade. Chairs and a table were drawn out onto the largest balcony on the medical ward, though most of the wielders present chose to sit on the ground with Leo, who had curled himself up on his side like a cat, content to sit with his head by Mel's side, where he could hum to the hatchling and nuzzle her tiny head gently every so often.

Sora kept shooting dark looks at Jarred, who scowled back; Riku gave the pair of them a series of long and hard looks while Kairi intermittently helped Aqua with note taking and organising the papers scattered on the table top. Terra and Ven were hovering near the two boys, in case either of them tried anything again, while Lea stood leant against Leo's tail, watching and waiting in case he had to step in too. He was tight lipped and pale, with deep rings under his eyes, and remained silent; Ven kept shooting him looks of concern periodically, but didn't leave Terra to deal with Jarred by himself.

The other dragon egg was tucked in carefully behind Mel's back, wedged between her and Leo, who had already had to bellow and snarl at Jarred to make him back down, ashen faced when he had shouted at Mel and demanded she return what she had taken from them. He seemed to think the chick and the egg were his; Tarquin had barely spoken a word since they had arrived, except to ask for the egg back, which he had referred to as a 'stone'.

Rhiannon was sat disconsolately on the ground, leaning against one of Leo's hind legs, and not paying any particular attention with her mind on Evalyn further down the hall. She kept glancing in the direction of the window into her room, even when Yen Sid began the meeting. Mickey, who had been leaning over Mel's lap to look in wonder at the little baby dragon, got up and went to stand by Yen Sid's side, and Rhiannon reluctantly turned her attention back to the old Master.

Yen Sid spoke to the boys with such gentle patience, Aqua marvelled at the serenity he exuded. If Ven or Terra had behaved like that, she would have clouted them – or probably throttled them. Jarred swore like a sailor, and he refused to speak directly to any of the women present, deigning only to look at them briefly when they addressed him, with a look of utter contempt. That kind of behaviour had _never_ been tolerated by Master Eraqus, and she wondered to herself how he would have handled this situation. Jarred was clearly scared and out of his depth, and he was very young; even Mel, calm and even-tempered as she was, could get snappy when she was angry or scared, though she was admittedly for more respectful, and quick and infinitely gracious with her apologies.

After almost an hour of gentle questioning and gravely listening to what they had to say, Yen Sid sat back in his chair and regarded them both thoughtfully, stroking his beard while Jarred stared mutinously at him. Tarquin bowed his head in silence, looking as though he wished the ground would swallow him whole. He was just so mild and meek by comparison, and looked as though he wished he were almost anywhere else but here. Jarred held an air of arrogance in his manner, though he was clearly quite frightened of all these strangers; he also appeared to be unaccustomed to the democracy with which the group organised itself. Aqua and Yen Sid would have the deciding votes, though they listened to what everyone else had to say, the two boys included. The only place they didn't venture their opinion was with regard to the dragons – that was Mel's area, which seemed to baffle and infuriate Jared further.

Under their gentle probing, they had learnt where the boys had come from; the same World as where Evalyn hailed from, which had piqued Rhiannon's interest and for a time had wholly held her attention before she went back to casting glances in the direction of the window. It was a fiercely patriarchal society, hence the attitude towards all the women they had encountered. They were cousins, and judging by the way the older Masters had all exchanged looks, it was obvious they thought that the story given about leaving home on a dangerous hunting mission was a lie. Scowling darkly, Jarred turned to clout Tarquin when he spoke up about the campsite they had found, hissing something under his breath before Terra grabbed his wrist and lowered his arm slowly, silencing his curses with a hard look. Tarquin then admitted that they had found the campsite, and moved the bodies from where they had found them, placing them under the boulders. "Just in case…y'know…" he said quietly, eyes on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. "Carrion…" They all nodded gravely, and Yen Sid gestured gently for him to continue.

The 'stone' (which they were both amazed to discover was in fact an egg) had been with them for a while now, though Jarred forbade his cousin to say any more on the matter, despite Terra's disapproving scowl at his tactics. The little dragon had been found in the wreckage of one of the tents, and Tarquin had been trying to tend to her when Leo had rocked up with Mel and Terra in tow. From there, they knew the rest of the story, and they all sat for a while in quiet contemplation, each following their own avenue of thought.

Then, Yen Sid got up and walked stiffly over to the pair of them, laying his hands on their shoulders each in turn and looking them straight in the eye.

Finally, he released Tarquin, who shuddered and hid behind Jarred's elbow, and went back to the table, looking weary.

"I believe only Tarquin has the ability to wield the Keyblade." He said after a further moment of reflection. "Though it is clear Jarred has great skill in the magical arts." He gestured with his right hand. "Both will need to be taught to control their powers, of course. We must think on what is best for the both of them."

Mel bristled a little, and Leo lifted his chin off the ground so he could nuzzle her hip with a grating noise. She pulled the chick closer to her and didn't look at Jarred, who scowled menacingly at her.

"Tell that bitch to give back that dragon," he said with a sneer that instantly quailed into a look of abject fear when Leo lifted his great muzzle higher still, and he drew his lips back in a dangerous grimace, accompanied with a low and menacing hiss. Mel met his eyes levelly and for a very long moment, and he flinched away from the contact as if she had struck him in the face.

"You should not talk to your elders that way," Terra said in a low, even tone that masked his fury. Aqua and Ven exchanged looks, and Ven got ready to step in between them if need be.

"But she took them from us-!" he complained to Terra.

"As we've said before," Ven said heavily, explaining once again. "Mel is what we call the Dragon Keeper. She's responsible for the dragons, which means she has to look after this one too. And she's still very sick,"

Aqua sat back in her chair and regarded Ven thoughtfully. He was quite protective of Mel, and she had thought he would have been more angry about the way the boy was speaking to her, but his patience seemed almost as endless as Yen Sid's on the matter; he betrayed only weary exasperation, where as the old Master had betrayed nothing at all so far.

"What does a woman know?" Jarred asked sulkily.

"More than you do." Terra loomed over his shoulder, making him jump out of his skin. "She is older and more experienced than you on most matters. Hold your tongue."

There was a tapping at the glass doors onto the balcony, and they turned to see Rosie looking agitated behind the pane.

"So sorry to interrupt, but," she waved frantically to Rhiannon. "She's awake,"

Rhiannon was on her feet and running for the door before the rest of them could so much as blink. Aqua half way made to get out of her chair, but thought better of it and sat back again, turning to exchange glances with Mel. She had had the same idea, but the hatchling in her lap and the egg at her back had stymied her for the moment. Leo's ears pricked forward and he sniffed the air, tail twitching with inquisitiveness. Lea had stood up more straight, and kept his arms tightly folded, but made no other move than that.

"So then." Yen Sid turned to look gravely at Aqua, and she sat up straighter in her seat. "We will have to think of where is best for Jarred to go for training. Tarquin, however, will be an easier quandary to fix. So, shall he be your student, or Melody's?"

Mel's jaw dropped open at the suggestion. Leo looked between the two women, before he nuzzled his nose under her chin and lifted her mouth closed. She blinked, and turned to look at him, ever the startled-rabbit-in-the-headlights. He looked amused and blew through his nose, ruffling the hair that framed her face before he nuzzled her again and licked her cheek.

"Maybe we can discuss the finer details later," Aqua said with a smile, studying Mel's alarm with amusement. "He'll be staying with us, at any rate. I think it can wait for the moment."

XOXOX

Rhiannon ran a hand over Evie's face, and she groaned again. Her eyes were open but bleary, and her right arm flailed uselessly as it tugged on the IV plugged into the back of her hand.

"Eaves, pet. Can you hear me?" she asked again, and she turned her head in the direction of the voice. Recognition and incomprehension warred in her face.

"Huh…?" she croaked. "Rhi…where're ya…?"

"Yes, it's me." She clasped Evie's hand, and smoothed the hair off her face, relief hitting her like a tidal wave, so forcefully she felt her knees buckle and had to grasp the metal frame of the bed for balance. "How do you feel?"

"Shit. In a…word…" Evie tried to move, as though to sit up, and slid back against the mattress with another groan. She swore feebly, and said, her red eyes – _finally_ the correct shade again – bleary and unfocused, "Wha'appened…?"

Rhiannon smiled, despite herself. "You were a feckin' eejit, is what. But you're safe now, and I'll look after ya."

"Oh goodie…" she tried to turn her head away, and started to cough. Once the tremors subsided she was too weak to do much except lay still and look very sorry for herself. "Rose…she were – 'ere…jus' now,"

"Gone to make us a nice cuppa." Rhiannon felt very light headed and giddy. She grinned like an idiot.

She was _safe_.

Evie twisted slowly and painfully so she could get a better look at Rhiannon's face, and winced. "Bloody hell, Rhi. Y'look like you're possessed. What the feck happened?" she delivered the line so beautifully, and then slumped back against the pillows with exhaustion, ruining the desired effect entirely.

"I'm tired. I just spent the last week tinkin' you were dead, or dying. I tink I'm entitled to a little insanity. Light knows you were always determined to test it… Ever since that little _incident_ in the Giza Plains with the caravan-!"

" _Not-_ " she said, raising a violently trembling hand to point at her and tiredly curling her lip in contempt. "My _fault_. You _bitch_ -"

"Oh sure, wild saurian chasin' us all o'er the desert," she began, and grinned when Evie snarled quietly.

"Well it wasn't my pack the…the bastard tore…y'know…in- into…" she slumped again. " _Shit_ I'm tired…"

"Rest, sleepin' ugly. I'll be here when you wake up again…"

Evie swore at her half heartedly, and was fast asleep by the time Rosie came back with the tea. "How is she? I couldn't get much sense out of her before."

Rhiannon took the tea and inhaled its rich aroma with a contented sigh. "Oh, she's not makin' any sense now. But then again, she never did." When the Mage continued to look dubious, she added, "Oh, but she was swearin' at me. Not happy about being in bed."

Rosie looked for a moment like she might burst into tears. "Oh, good." She smiled; a familiar look Rhiannon knew that meant she was happy but getting very close to the end of her rope now. "Rest and plenty of water, that should fix her up." She drew up a chair beside Rhiannon, and they sat in companionable silence. Evie shifted once or twice in her sleep, not conscious but no longer comatose. Finally, Rosie asked tentatively, "Do you…do you know what will happen to the two boys who came in with them?"

Rhiannon looked at her, and then away, shrugging. "The younger lad is a Keyblade Wielder. I'm guessin' that egg must belong to him. As for the other boy," she grimaced in distaste. She knew she had a temper of her own, but by the Light… Even for Evie's home World, he was belligerent. It occurred to her Aqua would probably require back up on this issue, and felt little remorse in staying right here with Evie instead.

Rosie looked thoughtful for a moment, but she didn't say anything, and instead fished for her satchel, drawing a notebook and some pens from inside. She set about writing and fiddling with something in her pocket that Rhiannon didn't see clearly, and didn't really care to know more about.

When Evie woke up again later that evening, she was much perkier, and the insults came more quickly. Rhiannon thought she could contain herself, but when Evie gave that stupid little grin of hers, at once she was transported back in time to when they were still students together – her eyes again bright red and full only of the physical pain in her body and not the deep wrenching pain of a scarred Heart – and Rhiannon involuntarily crushed Evie to her chest. Evie yelped and struggled and had tears in her eyes when she was finally let go, which made Rhiannon panic momentarily. Rosie managed to soothe her aches and pains from the episode, and helped Evie to sit up comfortably with her back and neck properly supported by a mountain of pillows.

Evie grimaced at the indignity of it all, and when she made to apologise to Rosie she grabbed her chin with surprising strength, and both Evie and Rhiannon looked again, disconcerted.

"Don't you _dare_ apologise." She said in a low, serious voice. "All those times you were willing to bend over backwards for me – don't you _dare_ say sorry to me now. And just remember how you felt when you helped me. Because that's how I feel right now."

Evie's response to this was to dissolve into tears, and she silently accepted the cup of tea offered to her. Before she left, Rosie leant down to speak into Rhiannon's ear, her long hair sweeping down to hide them both from Evie's view.

"Go easy on her. She doesn't need you to give her any grief at the moment."

Rhiannon watched her leave wordlessly, and when the door had clicked shut, she turned to regard Evie, who had her eyes closed and was grimacing.

"All right, flower?"

"No. I feel like I been beaten all over with sticks and then run over by a South West train." She gritted her teeth. "An' then wrapped in a sack an' tossed in the Solent…"

Rhiannon sat back in her chair, pretending to be contemplative. And of course, seeing this, Evie couldn't resist.

"Wha'?"

"Oh, notin' pet. Only," she folded her arms and looked thoughtfully out of the window. "Here I was all these years, tinkin' _I_ was the biggest trouble maker, and look at all the fuss _you_ went and caused."

"Oh _shut up_ …" Evie spat angrily, and started to cough again, wincing with each laboured exhalation.

Rhiannon patted her shoulder, stroked her hair, and tried to give her more tea, thinking of Rosie's words and mindful of the fact that when it came to bed side manners, she had all the tact of a landslide. It culminated in Evie weakly batting her away with her arms, wincing as the IV needles pulled at her hands, and saying tearfully, "Oh just bugger off you stupid bint and leave me be-!"

When Evie fell asleep again for the night, Rhiannon rearranged some of the pillows against the side of the bed so she could lean against them, pummelling them into position as quietly as she could. Before she settled in to sleep, she gazed again at Evie's face; her nose was peeling, the cuts and bruises were healing, and the only lines marring its countenance were the lines of exhaustion, which as the Mage had said, a good sleep would cure.

"I won't let anytin' like that ever happen to ya again, Evie. I promise." She murmured, stroking the hair off Evie's face. She shifted and mumbled incoherently, before saying Rhiannon's name. "Go to sleep," she said, a little more loudly this time, poking her in the side of the head so she didn't roll over.

Rhiannon slept better that night than she had in quite a while, despite the crick in her neck when she woke up the following morning.

XOXOX


	4. A Fresher Start

**AN: aaarrrggghhhh sorry about the massively delayed update :S it took forever to proof read and it was done so in chunks so apologies for anything that slipped through the net.**

 **On the plus side, part of the next chapter has already been written by this point, so hopefully it won't be too long in the making :)**

 _ **A Fresher Start**_

"How is she?" Mel asked quietly, lifting the little hatchling up so they were eye to eye. She wagged her tail weakly and clumsily bumped her muzzle against Mel's nose, her tongue sticking out over her lower lip.

Rosie smiled at the little dragon. "Better. She was having a half way decent conversation with Rhiannon when I saw her this morning. Very tame language. Yes, she'll be up and about in no time, I think. Provided she keeps rested and hydrated."

Ven handed Mel a small feeding bottle of goat milk and chicken blood, carefully warmed to room temperature, and attempted to feed the hatchling. She didn't know what to do with the bottle, and kept managing to get the plastic teat up her nostril instead of in her mouth. She was more mobile now, but still very weak and needing an awful lot of rest in between bursts of activity. Kyo sat beside his sister, staring at the baby dragon with rapt curiosity. He had been very quiet since the attack, and he was with Mel at the moment so Tom could have a well-earned break. He was probably sleeping at the moment after having kept such a close eye on his cousin. Mel would have liked to have joined him in a nap, but she now had two dragons to look after, as well as Kyo.

"That's good news." Mel said, trying to manoeuvre the bottle into the hatchling's mouth. She bumped her nose against it, and some of the mixture leaked out and down her face as she stared up at Mel with dull blue eyes. Mel put the bottle down and patiently wiped the chick's face clean with a damp cloth, before she turned to look at Ven helplessly.

"Does this one have a name yet?" Rosie asked. She hesitantly reached a hand out to the dragon, who slowly turned her head and snuffled warily at her fingers, hesitantly noting the new smell.

"No." Mel's mouth twisted downward with a frown. She looked at Ven again, who just gazed back sadly. The dragon in her lap had hatched to someone else; someone who they were certain was dead. It didn't feel right to claim this dragon as hers; she thought of how it would make her feel to have someone make that claim on Leo, even in the absence that her death would create. This dragon might be hers now, her responsibility, but she was not this dragon's human and she never would be.

"She's a funny little thing…" Rosie said slowly, stroking the dragon's head and neck; she closed her eyes and tilted her chin upward like a cat, enjoying the contact. The chick even purred, a much quieter and high-pitched sound than Leo's. "Did Leo look like this when he hatched?"

"Yup," Ven smiled tiredly, and rubbed his eyes before saying, "Not quite so bony, though, and more fluffy…and without those spines on his back."

Mel tried a couple more times to get the chick to feed, with little success. Leo leant over her lap and nuzzled at the little dragon, to which she responded with faint chirrups and wagged her rump, her tail trailing haphazardly across Mel's boots and the spines getting tangled in the laces. Leo was again wedged in the doorway of the balcony, filling the available space as he always did. When he pulled back from the chick his head loomed over them all as he looked down on the five of them. Kyo smiled weakly and got up from the floor, walked to Leo's side, and curled up against him. Leo responded by tucking him in as best he could, with the rest of his body outside on the balcony, and Kyo quickly fell asleep with Leo's muzzle pressed against him.

"I wonder…" Rosie said slowly, running a finger gently along the chick's spine, and the protrusions that stuck out at angles there, unconsciously unwinding the bootlaces snarled around her tail as she went. "What _are_ these?"

"Dunno." Ven shrugged, and got up to pour them all some more tea.

"Leo's the only one of his kind we've seen before." Mel said, echoing something Aqua had said only that morning. "We have no idea what's normal for their species. There could be subspecies, or even a completely _separate_ species, for all we know." Lynn would probably like to get her hands on DNA samples to be certain – or rather, _Evie_ would most likely wish to. Mel gave her head a little shake at the thought as she tried to clear her cluttered mind.

Rosie looked thoughtfully down on the little dragon, who curled up in Mel's lap and promptly started snoring quietly. After a while of comfortable silence, the Mage asked if they knew where Aqua was, and they told her probably up in the library if she wasn't with Ansem.

"I thought I should check in with her before I leave." Rosie explained. She should have been home by now, but she had dropped everything to help look after Evie.

"Speaking of which," Mel said, lifting her chin and looking a little to the right of the door. And right on cue, Aqua opened the door a beat after she had finished speaking.

"Ah!" Rosie smiled and got up to greet her. "Speak of the devil,"

Aqua pointed at Mel, chin tilted and eyebrow quirked, and Mel looked up at her innocently. "I'll deal with _you_ later," she said in a mockingly stern tone.

"Stop stalking people's auras," Ven teased as he walked past, ruffling her hair.

"I can't help it." She said with quiet dignity, waiting for Ven to walk out of range before she reached up to fix the mess her hair was in. "You three have energy that practically screams at me every time I'm near you. And we live under the same roof so I can never get away from it. How can I not notice you all when you walk by?"

Ven rolled his eyes dramatically, and scratched Leo's jaw. The dragon hummed and slammed his tail onto the floor of the balcony with a loud _thump_. The noise roused the chick, and while Rosie and Aqua spoke, Mel lifted the little dragon up and attempted once again to get her to feed. When she failed, Ven sat down on the floor beside her and took a turn while Mel lay down on the floor and stretched out her stiff muscles before she collapsed in a heap with a sigh.

"Very elegant." Ven said primly.

Mel stayed perfectly relaxed in her body, but allowed one or two facial muscles to twitch in response.

"Oh, that's the face of an enlightened shaman who's _impressed_." Ven went on.

Eyes still closed, Mel rolled onto her side so her back was to him, and then rolled again so she was out of his reach when he leant over to poke at her playfully.

"I'm not talking to you."

"Aww, c'mon Mel! That was funny, admit it," Ven whined.

Mel rolled up onto her knees and sat up before stretching her arms above her head; she placed her hands in her lap and turned her head aside to give him a long look. He grinned at her impishly, and then unashamedly when Leo lifted his head and snorted loudly, creating a current of air that stirred the hair around Ven's face. Then Leo reached towards Mel, and she smiled at him before settling into a cross-legged position. He laid his chin in her lap, and she wrapped her arms around his face, leaning her body against muzzle and for a moment just held him.

She had the feeling that they wouldn't have many peaceful moments together like this for a very long time. Mel sat up and looked across the room to the nest they had built out of towels and blankets for the egg. It was just as she had left it half an hour ago. Satisfied nothing had occurred under her nose to cause it any harm since then, she turned back to Leo to give him her full attention, for the moment oblivious to everyone else.

"Mel,"

She blinked and sat up again, her hands placed on Leo's cheeks while he dozed. Ven was standing beside her, holding the chick close to his chest and looking down on her.

"Yes?"

"Conference," he grinned, and hefted the chick carefully into one arm so he could lean down with the other and help her up. Leo kept his muzzle pressed against her stomach for balance until she was on her feet, and then snaked his head away to rest beside Kyo while she turned her attention to Aqua, who was rubbing her temples.

"I just need to find Terra," she was saying to Rosie, and Mel cocked her head to one side.

"No need to look." She said.

Aqua rolled her eyes dramatically, and Ven stifled a laugh as she went to the door and leant out into the corridor, calling for Terra. "Speak of the devil!" she grinned as she ducked back inside.

"What did I do _now_?" they heard him respond as he took his time walking towards them.

Mel smiled at the quizzical look Rosie gave her, before the Mage blushed and looked away, tucking her long hair back behind her ears. "You are truly one of the nicest people I have the pleasure of knowing, but I won't pretend that you are not a little unnerving at times." She said softly.

Mel spread her hands in a gesture of apology and surrender, and then folded her arms when Ven said unabashedly, "Oh she basically reads _everything_ except your mind. She could probably do that too, but Medicine Women are held to a strict moral code of ethics."

"It's a matter of interpreting energy, in all its forms. You can't force a mind without magic. And when you spend as much time around someone as I have around these three – as I said, it's really hard to _miss_ them when their auras all but shout at me."

Rosie chuckled to herself. "I met a Seer in Annar, once. He's…an interesting character, and very kind, but there's just something about predicting the future…I don't know, it makes me feel a little bit…well, uneasy."

"Oh, that's fine. Mel doesn't read fortunes," Ven gave her a wicked grin, and Mel just gazed back, silently imploring him to stop. "She just reads the present, and makes an educated guess about what'll happen next." He nodded sagely, stroking his chin with one hand, the other holding the little chick – who was looking rather bemused – close to him. " _Completely_ different."

When he looked at Mel with an expectant smile, she said with her head hanging, "Please, just stop talking…" though she did laugh with him, feeling lighter than she had all week.

"When you're quite finished," Aqua said conversationally, trying to pull their attention forward and to the centre.

"Well, I had a couple more-"

" _Ventus_."

"I'll be quiet." He promised, head bowed and holding the little dragon up like a shield.

Terra snorted, and Leo shifted carefully so his face was not in view, and Mel closed her eyes so she couldn't see Ven's expression, because she knew she would not be able to keep from laughing, and they had a serious conversation to conduct.

"Right." Aqua gave the men hard looks before she continued. "Rose has offered to get the Ladonier Guild to take Jared on. It's going to take some time to organise, and we can't leave him here in the mean time."

Mel felt her heart sink but she didn't say anything. She didn't like Jared; there was an abrasive quality to his energy that might not be entirely to do with his upbringing. She could guess where this was going, and she mentally braced herself for what was coming.

"So." Aqua looked each of them in the eye, last of all Mel, and she guessed the older woman saw her reluctance because her expression softened a little. "I just need to check with you all that you're okay with them both staying with us for a few days."

"My Mentor should be able to fast track some of the paperwork," Rosie added helpfully, but added with a forlorn tone, "but it will still take about a week. Assuming all goes well,"

"Won't there be questions?" Terra asked, not completely convinced.

"Only about the boy in question." Rosie turned to look at him gravely. "Apart from my Mentor, we're the only ones who know about the flute. Word has got around about a dragon who frequents Radiant Garden, but unless Merlin or Yen Sid were to make a formal complaint, or if Leo were to attack one of the Guilds' Mages, the Guilds don't really have a reason to get involved. And…" her mouth twisted downward with a frown. "I do not think, somehow, that the people who will be involved in Jared's care will really take what he has to say about the chick seriously…at least, not enough to make them curious to find out more. And even if they were, they have no jurisdiction here, or in your affairs."

Aqua considered this carefully for a long while, and they waited in silence. Eventually, she said, "What exactly will happen to Jared?"

"He will be placed in a retreat for a while before either being integrated into one of the Guilds or taken home. Culture shock is a common enough problem if you have never left your home country before, let alone World, and I think this one will need a lot of help adjusting." After a moment, she added, "I am sure the dragons will be safe enough. You would be surprised how often people get lost and repatriated through the Guilds. Occasionally those who stray far from home have enough talent in the magical arts to warrant formal training to protect themselves and others around them. Keyblade Dragons aside, this situation is a lot more common than you would first imagine."

Aqua took a little while longer to decide that she was satisfied, but eventually conceded. "Well, if it's not going to inconvenience you too much to do this for us, thank you."

"Please, it's no inconvenience at all." Rosie insisted, raising her hands. "I'll write to Horace and arrange an appropriate time. Meanwhile…"

"We're stuck with them both, aren't we?" Terra asked dully, preferring to look through the nearest wall than at either of the women.

"One of those boys is a Keyblade Wielder." Aqua reminded him stiltedly.

"Plus he'll be a dragon rider." Ven added, rubbing the chick's head with his free hand. "We can't _not_ take him."

Mel carefully schooled her expression into a neutral mask, and inhaled deeply. She turned aside when Ven looked at her, knowing he was reading her mood and not wanting him to worry about her. Thankfully, Aqua changed the subject, and the conversation moved on to more practical things, like how they would get everyone back to Land of departure and organising a meal before they left so they wouldn't have to cook when they arrived home.

While the food was being arranged, Mel took the chick and went to see Evie, who was awake and fairly active; she was laid down still, and propped up by many pillows, but despite this she was chatting away rather animatedly with Rhiannon. Kyo had woken from his nap and followed Mel, though she tried to discourage him, thinking he might not cope with the situation, but he would not be deterred. Kyo watched the woman closely from Mel's shoulder without saying a word as they walked in.

"How do you feel?" Mel asked, carefully rearranging the chick in her arms as the little dragon struggled to sit up and sniff at all the new smells around her confusedly.

"Better." Evalyn smiled, though it was accompanied with a wince. Her sunburn was improving, but she was still bruised all over and her movements were stiff. "Guess I can't complain." She titled her head back a little and quirked an eyebrow at Kyo. "You awright, Kyo?"

Kyo nodded, watching her intently, and Mel was about to say something when he said, "You're not Lynn, are you?"

"Kyo," Mel began, but stopped when the woman raised a hand to cut her off.

She regarded Kyo speculatively for a long moment, before she spoke. "No, I'm not." She said simply.

"But she is still here?"

"Yeah, inside," she thumped her chest and grimaced with a wince, and didn't protest when Rhiannon put a hand on her wrist and lowered it onto the blankets. "I guess…"

"Then…" Kyo bit his lip, and seeing the warning expression Mel was trying to give him, blurted out in a rush, "Can you give her whatever equivalent of a hug you can?"

Mel blinked in surprise. The other two women stared uncomprehendingly at him.

"Cause I want her to know that I'll miss her and all, but…" he looked up, jutting his chin defiantly at Mel, and stuck out his hand to the woman on the bed. "I'm really pleased to meet you, Evie!"

She blinked, and automatically raised her own hand to shake his. "I know she'd be happy to hear that. Thanks, Kyo." She smiled, and slumped back down onto the covers tiredly.

"I'm going to go find Tom." Kyo proclaimed, and gave Mel a hard look. "You know he's _hopeless_ without me."

Rhiannon rolled her eyes and muttered something to herself while Evie tried not to laugh. Mel waited until Kyo had left the room (after fixing her with his best glare) before she turned to Evalyn.

"Thank you, for that…"

"No worries." She croaked. "He's probably the only person apart from Rhi 'oo's adjustin' to the situation well…"

"I didn't need ta' adjust. Because I _knew_ you were the same idiot all along." Rhiannon said broadly with a grin.

Her friend raised a wobbling hand and shook it loosely at her. "I _resent_ the implications and I'm _sure_ Lynn would too if she could talk right now,"

Mel laughed, and relaxed. "If I slip up in addressing you, I apologise in advance."

"Ehh," she waved the notion away vaguely with a flop of her wrist. "No worries, really. Poor Rose…I'm doin' 'er 'ead in."

"Done everyone's heads in since the day you were-"

"So!" Evie said loudly over Rhiannon, and making herself cough. "New dragon, ehh?" she added once she had recovered.

"Yes," Mel came closer so she could see, and the chick turned her head towards Evie with vague curiosity.

"N'aww," Evie crooned. "Who's an adorable bundle a'fluff?" she tickled the chick under the chin, and she lifted her head to allow better access, and started crooning. "Now, the way I heard it – this'un weren't very well at all. Am I right?" she looked inquiringly at Mel.

"Yes, but she's doing much better now. I think she'll recover completely,"

The chick was certainly more lively, and interacting socially with people and with Leo, so there didn't seem to be any delayed development mentally. Size and weight, however, were another matter.

"So, what about this egg everyone keeps talkin' abou'?"

"Mmm…" Mel frowned. "The younger boy will be a dragon rider. The older boy will be going to the Guilds when the paperwork can be sorted."

Evie and Rhiannon exchanged a long and complicated look that was in essence a silent conversation; so many expressions were exchanged in a relatively short space of time, and they both understood clearly what the other was trying to convey – it was mostly lost on Mel.

"Good luck." Evie's mouth twisted at the corner. "I'd like to say we got your back, but-"

"We've got _other_ concerns. Haven't we, pet?"

Evie pulled a face at her before turning her head on the pillow to look at Mel again. "If I get out of this bed right now, Rhi will cause me grievous bodily harm. And if she catches me again Rose might _actually_ kill me this time."

"She's already tried once today." Rhiannon said smugly.

"I'm so _bored_!" Evie said, suddenly and with great vehemence. "I hate bed rest!"

"Not what you said after you completed your degree. Or after the Mark of Mastery, for that matter."

"That was voluntarily being comatose for a week. It's no fun when it's forced onto you."

There was a knock at the door, and Rosie came in with a stack of boxes. "Mel, Terra's looking for you," she said, trying to place everything onto a table in the corner without dropping anything, waving Mel away when she made to help. "And I think Ven has your food. Oh, and Cid wanted to borrow Leo for a courier job if that's all right with you."

"Rose, 'ow'd you survive lying in bed all day? I'm bored outta my skull." Evie said dully. She looked at the box Rhiannon placed on her lap with an equally dull expression.

"A combination of things. But mainly audio books," she said in a kind but businesslike tone. "That and the box set of _Poirot_ kept me going for weeks. Eat up then. I have to go soon,"

"I better grab something to eat, and go see what Cid needs. If I don't see you before you go-"

Rosie turned around to give her a hug, and stood back to look down at the little dragon with a smile. "She's so sweet…"

Evie and Rhiannon exchanged amused looks. "That's the first time I've ever seen you _not_ terrified of a dragon." Evie said. "It's almost unnerving. Like seeing you not keel over every time there's a sudden loud noise or an exceptionally long queue."

Rosie turned around slowly and folded her arms, raising an eyebrow. "I do wish you would drop it Lynn- I mean, Evie!" she added hurriedly before she hung her face in her hands, and Rhiannon roared with laughter.

Pointing, she said, "See? I'm the only one not affected by this,"

Evie pulled another face and did a silent imitation of her friend, stopping instantly and smiling sweetly from her pillows when Rhiannon turned to look at her.

"Who ever you are today, just stop…please!" Rosie groaned.

Mel bumped her elbow encouragingly as she walked past. "Good luck."

"Thank you. And you, too." Rosie said, looking flustered but genuinely pleased.

Outside in the corridor, Mel went back to the room they had been inhabiting, and met Ven at the door. "Food's gonna get cold!" he chastised her as he dragged them inside.

"Not if Terra eats it all first," Aqua said playfully, sticking a spoon into the bowl of rice in front of her.

"I missed breakfast." He grouched to no one in particular as he piled his plate up with food quickly and started to eat.

Mel very carefully placed the chick in a nest of blankets beside Leo's muzzle on the floor, before she stood up to get herself some food. Once she had filled a bowl and sat down beside Terra, she sighed to herself.

"Wassup?" Ven asked after Terra had spoken to her about transporting the egg home with the two boys, and then gone back for seconds.

Mel stared into the middle distance for a moment without seeing anything, and lifted a spoonful of rice from the bowl. She inspected it closely before eating it, chewing slowly and swallowing, thinking long and hard before she sighed.

"I don't give Kyo enough credit." She murmured.

XOXOX

It was…eventful, to say the least, having Jared and Tarquin staying with them.

Terra and Aqua finally moved out of their old rooms and into one together, fully and completely – because the rooms were needed for the boys. Ven was a little worried about Mel now being the only woman on the corridor, but she was more concerned with the chick and the egg to give much attention to Jared. Tarquin was fairly quiet and wouldn't make eye contact with anyone when his cousin was around, which was most of the time, and in the rare moments when he wasn't the boy would only talk to Terra or Ven. He seemed both drawn to and repelled by Mel (who was both female, and holding onto his egg) and he went out of his way to blank Aqua in a panic whenever she spoke to him.

Ven could tell it was going to be a trying time for all concerned. He summoned all of his patience with Jared, and even with Tarquin, though admittedly far less so with the younger boy. On the third day Ven and Terra were doing the laundry, while the two boys watched them. Tarquin didn't seem to know what to do, and after trying to help and getting things muddled up, mixing together coloureds and pales, managing to pile clean clothes on top of dirty ones, and failing to understand the fabric conditioner, Ven had convinced him to sit on a table in a corner of the room and out of the way while they worked. Jared, on the other hand, scoffed and asked why they were doing all this work at all, having given his cousin a silent and disparaging look when he tried to help.

"Because Aqua's cooking and Mel's looking after the dragons." Ven said calmly while Terra silently worked on a pile of clean shirts, mouth set in a stern line. "We all have to do our bit around here."

With the clean clothes folded up and sorted back into their correct piles, Ven put Aqua's clothes on top of Terra's, and he took them upstairs while Ven got ready to put on the next load. He sighed and rubbed his temples when he found the machine full with a load that had escaped the last chore rota, and would need hanging up before anything else could be done. The chick had been rather violently sick when they had tried her on solid foods the day before – Ven suspected Mel had forgotten all about the laundry. It was a nuisance to be sure, to have to stop and deal with this now, but he couldn't blame her for it. Mel would be too busy blaming herself for him to get a look in…

"Could you pass me some coat hangers? Those ones, there," Ven said to Tarquin, who got up hastily and rummaged around in the box Ven indicated for trouser hangers. "Thanks," he smiled encouragingly at him.

"What are those?" Tarquin asked curiously, pointing at the thing in Ven's hand.

He paused for a long moment, unsure of how to respond. It was a cloth menstrual pad. Having grown up with Aqua, and with Master Eraqus' practical and no nonsense approach to these things, Ven was unfazed by such objects, or the subject of feminine hygiene. Mel's very candid manner had reinforced this, and while Terra would often get a bit flustered, complain and sometimes tease the women about it, he was in fact perfectly capable of being a grown up and dealing with it in a mature manner. As far as the two boys were concerned, Ven thought that given their upbringing they wouldn't be so comfortable with the idea of women's menstrual pads full stop, much less holding and washing them.

"They're like cloth nappies, but for adults." Jared said knowledgably, closing his eyes and folding his arms with a wise and condescending nod of his head.

Ven smiled and before he could stop himself said, "Close, they're actually menstrual pads."

He probably should have felt bad when Jared's jaw hit the floor, but he couldn't bring himself to. He felt a twinge of regret on seeing Tarquin's shock and then genuine distress – he couldn't even bring himself to look at the machine or Ven at all. The older man had to suppress a sigh: this was going to be difficult…

"Why are you touching them? That's disgusting!" Jared said with abhorrence.

Ven gave him a long and steady look, attaching two pads to a hanger without looking at his hands, the motion well practised and unconscious. "No more so than underwear. Look, they just came out of the washing machine, they're clean." He said calmly. He had spoken to Mel about it and they had figured the best way to cope with the difference in custom was to be very calm and very matter of fact, and to impress upon the boys the idea that there were different ways of thinking, whilst still being respectful of their own views and doing whatever possible to make them feel at ease.

It had been little comfort when Evie, having been born in the same World as the two boys, had looked at them both with Lynn's quizzically cocked eyebrow, head tilted at an angle, and said somewhat sarcastically, "Good luck, mate."

"Yes it is! You're _touching_ them! _Women_ should be dealing with this, not _you_!"

Ven hung up the first two hangers on the wooden rack that hung down from the ceiling over the enormous radiator along the back wall, and went back for the next ones. He smiled despite himself; the fabric was patterned with tie-dye in pink and purple – one of Mel's. "They're clean, they just came out of the washing machine." He repeated.

"But that-!" Jared spluttered to a halt, pointing a shaking hand at Ven and unable to come up with a valid argument that could sway the older man's serene countenance.

"It's just a piece of cotton," Ven said calmly, placing another couple of hangers on the rack.

"Women _bleed_ on those things!" Jared hissed angrily, his face going red, and Ven was sure it was more from embarrassment than real anger, if his aura was anything to go on. "It's disgusting!"

"Yes, women menstruate." He said, trying to remain neutral in tone and expression. He tried to bear in mind what Evie and Rose had said about culture shock. "There's nothing dirty about it, it's a completely natural process." As he was reaching into the machine again Ven noticed Tarquin was looking pale and staring at the wall as though none of them were there, and tried to angle his body so that he hid the machine and its contents from view.

The door swung open and Mel tumbled into the room, looking windswept. "Ven I-" she began, and saw him lifting some more pads out of the washing machine, and sighed with despair, hand to her brow. "I'm sorry about that-" she began, pushing her frizzing hair back off her face.

"Never mind," he cut across her. "What is it?"

"I need another blanket for the chick. She's been sick again and we've run out…"

Ven dropped what he was holding and went to root around in a pile of bedding on the table. Tarquin jumped like he had been electrocuted and danced backwards out of the way, almost knocking a stack of boxes over as he went. Mel looked at him in surprise, but briefly so, noting his anxiety and connecting the dots together, before quickly schooling her expression into a neutral mask.

"Here," Ven handed her two small blankets. "Do you want to bring the dirty ones down to be washed?"

Mel glanced at the basket on the floor by the machine, which happened to be full of his and Terra's underwear that they were both running low on. She shook her head. "No, I think we'll give it a soak in the sink first. Thanks," she smiled, the hair escaping the lopsided braid she had loosely plaited that morning giving her a slightly manic look. She left swiftly, ignoring Jared and dipping her head a little in deference to Tarquin, who continued to blank her with his lips pressed together in a tight, anxious line.

Ven took a deep breath, and continued with the laundry. Terra came back not long after Mel had left, and they worked together quickly to get the job finished. After that, they went to the common room to wait for supper to be ready, and Terra left them to help Aqua in the kitchen. That left Ven and Mel with the boys while Leo nuzzled and licked the little chick gently, and grandly ignored Jared, who watched him with an odd combination of anger, curiosity and – Ven thought – something like bitterness.

They set up a game of chess for Tarquin and Jared to play in front of the hearth, and they went about the exercise while Mel and Ven got some sewing done in Leo's usual corner – mostly mending and darning today. Ven knew there were a handful of bras that needed fixing too, and Mel had tactfully left them upstairs so as not to unsettle anyone further. She sat cross-legged beside Leo's muzzle on the floor, back straight and carefully darning a pair of socks with a series of deft movements of her hand, eyes focused on her work, expression neutral. He knew her nerves were stretched at the moment; she _looked_ calm, but if she were truly relaxed she would be slouching forward more, looking away from her hands often (she could perform almost any kind of needle work in her sleep) and maybe pulling faces as her mind wandered through a spectrum of random thoughts for her next project.

After a while, they started talking quietly, and Ven noted that Jared kept shooting them piercing looks every time Mel laughed, or raised her voice. Tarquin completely blanked her, and as they were setting themselves up for their various activities Mel had kept a respectful distance so as not to distress the boy further. Overall, she was more restrained than she usually would be, but she was also brimming over with concern for the chick, which would also have explained her tension as well. However, it wasn't difficult to make her laugh, and soon she was resting her elbows on her knees, leaning forward and looking up from her sewing as they talked, quite at ease again. Ven could almost pretend it was just the two of them and Leo in the room, though he kept an eye on Jared occasionally as they talked.

"Actually, I've thought of a name." She said after a comfortable silence.

Ven saw Jared looking directly at her with something like annoyance, and he turned around to fix the young man with a stare of his own that had him backing down instantly – almost shamefaced, which surprised Ven a little. He turned back to look at Mel, who couldn't have missed it but gave no indication that she had noticed.

"I wanted to talk to you all about it first."

"Go on then," Ven said, and yelped as he stuck the needle into his thumb. Mel handed him a thimble, and he muttered a graceless thank you before trying again. His darning skills were severely lacking, when compared next to Mel's neat stitches…

"Shikoba. I found it in a book at the back of the library." Mel gave him a genuine smile, the first one today and possibly all week, and he grinned back. "I came across it before, too. Years ago. It means 'feathered one'."

"Very appropriate." Ven's smile faltered when she put her sewing down, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Leo nuzzled at her hip, and she raised a hand to rub his face, giving him a sad smile. "What's wrong?"

Mel didn't respond for a time. Eventually, after looking up at the boys under the pretext of stretching her arms out in front of her, she said very quietly, "I can't help thinking about those people. She belonged to one of them, not me…" Leo grated and lifted his head off the floor to lick her cheek, and she tipped the sock out of her lap so she could reach up and wrap her arms around his great muzzle. Leo whined and tilted his head to the side so she slid and twisted around until she was lying on the floor, and he pressed his nose against her belly with a deep exhalation that ruffled her hair and clothes.

Ven smiled sadly too, and leaned over to scratch the dragon's neck. "We did what we could. She's our responsibility now."

"All the same…" Mel sat up as Leo dragged his head away to tend to the chick, who was chirping croakily for his attention. "It doesn't feel right, naming someone else's dragon."

Ven raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing. He guessed – if Mel and Leo were anything to go by – that the bond between a Keyblade Dragon and their given rider was incredibly strong and ran very deep. No doubt she was putting herself in someone else's shoes and thinking about how she would feel about someone else taking on that responsibility for Leo…

"What?" Mel asked bluntly, and Ven gave himself a little shake.

"Nothin'…"

"Oh? You sure about that?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," he refused to look her in the eye, and instead studied his smarting thumb.

Mel snorted softly. "You're probably thinking I'm being stupid and over thinking everything."

" _I_ never said you were being stupid." Ven said, aghast. " _You_ said that,"

"You were _thinking_ it."

"I _never-_!" he gasped dramatically, leaning away from her, hand over mouth.

"Liar…"

Ven prodded her with his foot, and she rolled out of the way and neatly up onto her knees, well out of range.

"I was only thinking to myself, you don't have to beat yourself up all the time."

Mel folded her arms across her stomach and bore her eyes into him. Ven tilted his head aside and focused on the sock in his hands.

"I am not the centre of the universe, so stop worrying about me." She countered eventually. "Help me and Aqua worry about the chick-" Mel suddenly squeaked, and Ven looked up to find that Leo had once again swung his head around to her, and tipped her over onto the floor in a messy heap. He laughed as she scrambled up again, bracing her knees against his nose as she gripped him by the horns. Leo's response was to snort loudly and jerk his chin upward before lifting his head completely clear of the floor; Mel was left draped across his face with her toes barely touching the carpet, and Ven couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Dinner's ready," Aqua called from the doorway, and paused to raise an eyebrow at the spectacle before her – a scene that was often played out in the evenings with many variations, many of which usually left Mel dangling from some height. "Leo, put her down. It's time to eat."

Leo tilted his head sideways sharply so Mel was partially dumped onto the floor, only just hanging on by his horns, which were wrenched from her grasp with another quick movement of his head in the other direction.

"Shut up, Ven." Mel said mildly, sitting up and adjusting her rumpled clothing, before trying to smooth her hair down.

Ven couldn't quite contain himself, and the looks Jared shot him just made it all the harder for him to keep a straight face. They ate in almost but not quite silence. At least, Jared and Tarquin were silent; Terra and Aqua talked together in quiet murmurs while Ven scoffed his food down with gusto. Mel sat on the floor with a bowl of soup beside Leo's own bowl, and another of finely minced meat and vegetables so finely chopped they were effectively annihilated. Leo chomped on his meal, a bowl full of assorted vegetables and mashed potatoes followed by a haunch of cooked venison, chomping up the bones afterward with the usual cracking, crunching sounds – Tarquin and Jared both went pale and avoided looking at Leo's impressively large jaws as he ate.

Sadly, Mel seemed to have as little luck as ever getting the chick to eat, and in the end she managed to slurp down about half of her by then lukewarm soup while she bottle fed the little dragon with a mixture of warmed milk and rabbit blood. Ven finished his soup and dumped the bowl in the sink before sitting down beside Mel and taking the chick so she could finish eating.

"Have you thought of any names yet?" Aqua asked when Terra started talking to the boys about the following day, which would be outdoor training.

"I have, but I wanted to run it by you guys first," Mel said, wiping her mouth on the back of her sleeve as she hastened to finish before the soup became even colder.

"What is it?" Aqua said once Terra had turned in his seat to join in the conversation.

"Shikoba." Mel told them. "What do you think?"

"Shikoba…" Terra tried the name on his tongue. "I like it, I think it suits her." he grinned. "Maybe Koba, for short."

"What is it with you and nicknames?" Aqua asked, poking him in the ribs, smiling.

"Don't you like it?" Terra simpered playfully, and winced theatrically when she gave him a loving shove.

Tarquin stared open mouthed at their display of affection, then seemed to realise before he quickly looked down into his empty bowl and fidgeted with his spoon, embarrassed.

"Koba. Actually, I like it." Mel said brightly. She turned to the little chick, who let go of the bottle to squeak at her, tail wagging feebly. Lifting her up under her front legs, Mel held her aloft and said, "How about you, little one? Do you like Koba? Or Shikoba?" she beamed when Koba lifted a paw and gently batted at her face, catching Mel's nose and chin, squeaking a little more loudly.

Leo rumbled deep in his chest, and started to eat from the chick's bowl. Ven considered stopping him, but thought better of it. No sense in letting the food go to waste after all, if she wasn't going to eat it…

"What's wrong with nicknames?" Ven asked Aqua as Leo snarfed everything down rather rapidly. "You like _my_ nickname, don't you?"

Aqua rested her chin on her fist, and gave him a long-suffering, sidelong glance while Terra laughed. Ven saw that Tarquin was watching them openly now, curiosity in his expression, while his cousin stared hard down into his bowl, face unreadable. Mel handed the chick back to him, and he settled her in his lap.

"Easier to say," Terra sniggered.

"Just cause you can't speak properly." Ven snapped playfully, reminding them all of how his nickname had come about in the first place. Then he looked at Mel, who was calmly watching Leo, her lips pressed together in a thinly disguised attempt to keep from laughing. "Actually, I don't think you've ever called me Ventus before." He said, giving her a friendly nudge.

Mel flicked her gaze to his face without inclining her head in his direction. "Because when we first met you invited me to call you Ven, and I believe in calling a person by the name of their choosing."

Ven smiled to himself, and rubbed the chick's tiny shoulders and back to aid her as she tried to expel trapped air in her windpipe. He knew she didn't especially like the name Melanie – he couldn't be sure but she had once hinted that it was a name from her father's side of the family, or at least his first choice. Less said about the man, the better. Mel was a natural contraction of Melanie, and the other name she usually went by was Melody, a childhood nickname that came about from her aptitude for music. So of course, when he offered her the name Ven, she had used it exclusively, even though on occasion Terra and Aqua did call him Ventus.

Ven was pulled from this revery by Mel's slight frown, and he reflexively looked up at Leo. He was doing something strange; his neck was arched like a swan's, and his head was slowly moving jerkily back, down, forward and up again in a repetitive, circular motion, his eyes closed. There was something about the grating noise he was making, a quality they had not heard before that Ven couldn't quite put his finger on. For want of a better word, it just sounded _different_.

"Is he okay?" Terra asked in concern when Leo bowed his head forward and started making another strange noise, almost like he was retching, but his mouth stayed closed. It looked like he might be sick, but he wasn't in any of the usual distress that accompanied such nausea.

"I don't know…" Mel began, and sat up quickly onto her knees when Leo slumped forward and retched again, this time his mouth hanging wide open. He did this several times, and after a large quantity of saliva had accumulated and dripped from his teeth, he gave one last heave. The shredded vegetables and meat that had been in the chick's bowl came back up, mashed up even further and glinting wetly in the bowl.

Jared made a sound of disgust, but no one was paying him any attention. Leo leant over to Ven and plucked the little dragon out of his lap by the scruff of the neck; he placed her on the floor by the bowl and pushed her closer, before gently nudging her nose into the food. She sniffed at it, nosed it, and then she started slowly to chew mouthful-by-mouthful, with apparently relative ease and real enthusiasm.

Leo exhaled heavily as he lifted his head clear of the bowl, and ran his tongue around his lips to clear away the excess saliva. He blinked and looked down at Mel and Ven, and then to Terra and Aqua, flicking his ears in a gesture of confusion, as if he wasn't sure what they were all staring at.

"And that's one for the text book," Terra said conversationally into the silence.

Mel slowly slumped forward and pressed the heel of her hand into her forehead. Ven leaned over and took her by the wrist, gently pulling her hand away before she had a chance to hit herself.

"Why didn't _I_ think of that? It's so obvious!" she gestured with her free hand.

"What-?" Tarquin began, but he stopped abruptly and wouldn't meet Terra's gaze as the man turned to give the boy his full attention.

"Just like a bird," Aqua said, getting up and walking the short distance to Leo's corner, where she rubbed his jaw and leaned into him as he pressed against her side with a contented hum.

"Well, lots of animals partially digest food for their offspring. Birds, mammals, reptiles, certain insects…" Mel checked them off on her fingers as she went.

"I'm sure Lynn will be interested in- ahh…I mean, _Evie_ ," Ven winced and rubbed the back of his head distractedly. He caught Mel's gaze, and smiled impishly. "That's gonna take some getting used to…"

"I'm sure she will be equally interested in the question of their natural history." Mel said gently. She got up to hug Leo's muzzle as Aqua crouched down to tend to the chick. "Clever you,"

Leo whined and rubbed his face against the length of her body, almost tipping her over – only experience and anticipation kept her from being pitched onto the floor under the weight of his enthusiasm.

The chick ate her first proper meal of solid foods – pre-digested for her – and it felt like a victory. They cleared away the meal and took down notes to confer with Evie and Ansem later that week, everyone feeling more confident about the chick's chances. Mel lifted her up and cradled her like a baby; she was fast asleep, full of food and thoroughly exhausted from the evenings activities.

"So. Shikoba?" Mel asked as they prepared to retire to the common room.

"Koba." Terra said was a sage nod.

Aqua folded her arms and Ven scuffed his foot against the floor, trying to hide his smile.

"What?" Terra demanded.

"All right. Shikoba it is," Aqua said firmly, not deigning to look at Terra when he scowled at her.

"And Koba for short," Mel added, much to his delight.

"You hear that? Your name's Koba!" Terra said with a grin, lifting her out of Mel's arms and holding her aloft over their heads. Koba stirred in protest and chirruped sleepily at him, batting a paw at him ineffectually before drooping again with exhaustion.

"Don't encourage him, Mel. You know what it leads to," Aqua admonished her as they left the kitchen.

"But he does have a point. I like Koba." Mel said fairly.

"Anyone want to play a game of Command Board?" Terra asked as they entered the common room.

Ven was certainly up for a game, but when he caught the look flitting between Mel and Aqua, he figured it wouldn't be such a good idea. Amidst the uncertainty Tarquin and Jared were facing right now, they didn't need their only male role models to descend into unruly, uncivilised and immature chaos. Tempting though it was, Ven opted to help Mel continue to fix their clothing instead, and Terra finally fell dramatically across the sofa, legs draped over Aqua's lap while she ignored him in favour of reading a book.

Much later that evening, when everyone was going to bed, Leo whined loudly and wriggled his entire rear end before prostrating himself on the floor before Mel. When that failed, he rolled haphazardly onto his back and continued to wag his rump, wings cramped in the small space of the corridor and whining very loudly, doing his utmost to look utterly, downright pathetic.

"What _now_?" Terra grumbled, rubbing his eyes and debating the merits and dangers of climbing over Leo to get to the staircase beyond.

"Leo-" Mel began patiently, and sighed when the whines reached a crescendo.

"He wants you to sleep with him tonight." Ven guessed, folding his arms. He looked briefly over his shoulder to find Jared glowering at the obstruction the dragon was causing. Tarquin was looking at Leo with covert fascination.

Mel sighed heavily, lifting Koba a little higher in her arms. "But my bed is so much better for my spine…"

Ven grinned. Leo made an excellent camping companion; his wings made the perfect tent, and his feathered hide was soft and warm. The only problem was that it wasn't so comfortable for your back. Camping with Leo was fun, but it was always a relief to fall back into your own bed afterward.

"Maybe just for a couple of nights. That way, he'd be close to Koba as well." Ven suggested, guessing Leo had an ulterior motive here.

"Fine. Get up, and stop being a nuisance. _One night_ ," Mel said firmly.

Leo bounced to his feet with delight, head crashing into the ceiling so he reeled for a moment or two, and they all took a big step back to avoid his thrashing wings and tail. Then he bent down to nuzzle Mel's face and lick her from hip to temple with a fresh, appealing whine.

"Need anything?" Ven asked as they dispersed for bed.

Mel gave him a tired, slightly ironic smile. "Get a good nights sleep for me." And she let Leo nudge her down the hallway towards his den on the ground floor of the castle.

XOXOX

When Aqua sent an urgent message to Destiny Island, it was promptly responded to, and Sora, Riku and Kairi arrived within a matter of hours. It was clear that everyone in the castle was under a lot of strain, and the three of them did their best to help out in whatever way they could. It rankled Kairi's pride to have to take a spectator's seat under the circumstances rather than train with the others, but the prospect of a new baby dragon to play with was enough to soften the blow. Riku steered Sora in the same direction, guessing with Ven that he and Jared would come to blows before long and wanting to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Sora sat cross-legged on the ground in the shade of a tree with the egg tucked safely into his lap, while Koba slowly capered around Kairi in a small circle, clumsily clambering over her knees and arms; tail, claws and spines getting lodged in her clothing as the little dragon went. Leo watched from afar, nose twitching intently while he constantly flicked his ears back and forth; he was supposed to be helping set up an aerial course for the future Keyblade Dragons, but his mind was elsewhere. Instead, Mel and Aqua used his large frame as a scaffold, and worked together to put the large hoops they had been making over the last few months into the sides of the various rock outcroppings around the training area. The idea was to build a run for the dragons to practise flying manoeuvres at speed – it had been a mere idle thought at first and a project they worked on half-heartedly until they found the chick and the egg, and then the task had taken on a greater sense of necessity. Leo usually practised the more tricky drills with the Berk dragons, racing through the maze of sea stacks on the south side of the island. Until now there had been little need for something similar here; by general consensus, it would be unfair to burden Hiccup with the training of the Keyblade Dragons on top of his duties to the Berk Academy, so they needed their own means of training closer to home.

While this was going on Terra, Ven and Riku worked with Jared and Tarquin. Rather than use Keyblades or any kind of magic, they did some tai chi exercises. It was tough work; Riku was the only one Jared would really listen to, and Tarquin kept jumping whenever he was spoken to, unable to focus on the katas he was being shown. He kept glancing at Sora, who had custody of the egg, and did his best not to look at anyone else, especially Kairi as she played with Koba.

Jared was irritable, argumentative and petulant. He knew he was going to be separated from his cousin; he knew that he had no control over the situation, and above all he knew he had little status here. From what Evie had told them, to a man from that World and culture, status was everything; Mel had deduced this was probably the main source of the boy's anger, that his cousin had a claim on the egg and therefore a dragon, as well as a Keyblade, and Jared didn't despite being the eldest. It probably galled him as well that the two women he had spent most of his time with in the last week or so had more status than him. Aqua was their leader, Mel was the dragons' caretaker; the other men may be entitled to their own opinions, but the two women had the final word in almost all matters, and the men had to comply.

It was a less than ideal arrangement for all concerned, but they had little choice but to stick it out until the end of the week. Rose was doing all she could to fast track the procedure, and to make sure the boy would receive the best care and support when he arrived at the Guild retreat.

Riku did manage to keep Jared focused long enough to complete a few katas, and perhaps even mollify some of his inner turmoil for a while – he certainly looked calmer than they had ever seen him when they called a halt for the afternoon. Tarquin on the other hand became increasingly agitated the longer he was away from the egg. They had decided to wait for Jared's departure before handing the egg back to Tarquin, to avoid any further arguments that might break out between them. That, and Mel point blank refused to let Jared anywhere near the unhatched dragon.

As late afternoon drew in, they all congregated on the flat area of the summit to eat an early supper. Mel had filled the ground oven that morning with various root vegetables, onions and a lamb carcass from the butcher in Radiant Garden. Terra had stuffed garlic into slits cut into the meat before it had been put into the oven, and the long slow cook during the course of the day had made it mouth-wateringly tender.

It was a well-rehearsed routine; Terra and Mel dug up the food and unwrapped it from the various leaves and bundles of straw and grasses they used, and everyone took what they wanted. Using the bowls and cutlery Aqua and Kairi had retrieved from the castle, everyone sat down in a loose group to eat as the sun crept closer to the horizon.

Riku ate quickly, and flopped down beside Kairi, exhausted from the constant vigilance he had been keeping all day. Terra listened with amusement as Sora told him about a sword fighting tournament they had held on the island back home, describing how he had defeated both Tidus and Wakka at the same time with only one hand (his other hand had been bound up to recover from a sprain at the time). Kairi rolled her eyes, but grinned and chipped in brightly to tell them how she had narrowly beaten Riku and their friend Selphie in a duel of her own.

Tarquin spent the meal watching the little canvas bag the egg was being kept in, nestled between Mel's hip and Leo's belly. The dragon crunched up what was left of the lamb once everyone had had seconds, and regurgitated some of it for Koba into Mel's bowl when she was finished with it. Aqua laid back on the grass with a tired groan; she was exhausted and sore all over from putting up the four hoops they had managed to shift that day. That left Ven to keep an eye on the two boys with everyone else otherwise occupied, which was difficult given his own tiredness. He kept drooping and yawning, and sighed quietly to himself every time Jared shot him a sharp glance.

Riku slowly roused himself and sat up, yawning widely as well and looking around the congregation tiredly. He noted the drawn expressions on the adults' faces, the way Leo's eyes narrowed whenever Jared came to his attention (he kept shooting looks at Koba, who by contrast to everyone else was becoming rather active) and the way Jared also kept looking at Aqua, Mel and Kairi. When Terra moved away to gather up the bowls and cutlery, Riku pulled his friends aside and they held a quick conference before turning to address Aqua.

"We can stay the night and help out tomorrow if you need it," Sora told her cheerfully.

Aqua sat up slowly, flexing her arms and shoulders with a wince. "If its not too much hassle for you, that would be great," she smiled at them tiredly, grateful for their support. "Do you need to get anything from home?"

"We brought some stuff with us, its fine." Riku gestured over his shoulder towards their ship, parked in the main courtyard.

"Wait, we did?" Sora asked, nonplussed.

"Don't worry, I slung your kit bag onboard before we left." Riku gave him an amused look. "Because I knew you'd forget."

"I didn't know we'd be spending the night here," Sora defended himself.

"Lucky guess," Riku shrugged, and got to his feet to help Terra.

"And Leah knows where we've gone so our parents won't panic when we don't turn up." Kairi added as Sora stomped after Riku in a huff.

"You're all so organised." Aqua smiled at her tiredly. "I'm so proud of you,"

"Some more than others," Kairi laughed, looking at Sora's retreating back.

"Okay," Mel said, eyes closed and tapping her brow as she tried to think clearly through her fatigue. Leo loomed over her shoulder, with Koba carefully tucked in between his horns and sound asleep, curled up like a house cat with one foreleg dangling over his brow. He was looking up at her with something like amusement, going slightly cross-eyed with the close proximity. "I'll sleep with Leo tonight, you can have my room. The boys can bunk with Ven,"

Soon, they were all tucked up in bed and fast asleep. Save for Tarquin and Ven; the former lay awake for a while, his hands itching still for the egg that was tucked up against Mel's side as she slept beside Leo. Ven lay on his back on the floor of his room, studying the ceiling as he listened to the sounds of Sora and Riku sleeping, turning the recent events over in his mind. Eventually, he sighed and rolled over, and closed his eyes.

Tomorrow wasn't going to be any easier, on any of them…

XOXOX

It still felt like she had been beaten all over with sticks, but it was easier to move now, and Evie didn't feel so dizzy or sick when she got up and walked. It didn't stop Rhi from fussing over her like an old woman, however. When she wasn't around, Evie breathed a sigh of relief, and enjoyed the quiet. Her body was getting stronger everyday, and once things had settled down in Land of Departure, Mel wanted her to help out with cataloguing the chick's progress in much the same way they had with Leo when he had been small. In the meantime, Evie reviewed the notes they already had on Leo, and figured the best way to record and present the new information they would be gathering as well. She took a scrap piece of paper and jotted down ideas as she sat alone in the library late one afternoon, focusing on the work and keeping herself occupied; the chick would fit into all manner of different scanners, and she wanted to see what a Keyblade Dragon's skeletal structure was like at such a young age, before she ballooned like Leo had and no longer fit in the doorway. So many questions she was dying to know the answers to, and the opportunity to find out!

Evie wasn't really aware of the door to the library opening, she was too intent on the papers in front of her, and she was plugged into the music player Rose had left for her, enjoying the same bands who had serenaded her through her years at university in the UK. She didn't notice who it was until they stood behind a chair nearby, put a hand on the back of it, and waited. Thinking it was Ansem or Leon coming to check up on her or ask something of her, Evie pulled the headphones out and looked up expectantly, and felt her stomach lurch.

"Hey." Lea said, somewhat flatly, his expression completely unreadable.

"Hi." Evie said, unsure of how to proceed with the conversation and wishing Rose was there with her.

"Mind if I sit down?" he asked, already pulling the chair out and depositing himself in it.

"Yeah, go ahead," she mumbled vaguely, gesturing at the table without looking at him, fixing her gaze instead on the small sketch of Leo's skull she had been making on the corner of the page.

They sat for quite a while in a silence that was not quite tense, but neither was it especially comfortable. Evie did one of the things she did best – procrastinate. She tapped her pencil against the paper and the table, she doodled in the margins, she tried changing the artist she was listening to, and had to stop and frown heavily for a moment because for some bizarre reason Rosie had a band on here that sounded like symphonic metal, being sung (or rather, in the tradition of the metal genre, screeched) in Arabic. It was…an interesting combination, to say the least.

"Wassup?" Lea asked carelessly, fiddling with another pen that had escaped her pencil case, looking intently at his occupied fingers.

Evie raised an eyebrow as she regarded the music player with a measure of disbelief. "Nothin'. Only I didn't fix Rose as a metal head," she said dismissively, finding an old movie soundtrack she liked and selecting that instead before she flicked the player aside. She rolled her eyes and shook her head reflexively before picking up the pencil and fixing to write some more – except she didn't know what to write.

"I guess I owe you an apology." She said at last, setting the pencil down and looking up at Lea. For better or worse, he wasn't looking at her; the pen was more interesting, apparently.

"For what, exactly?" he asked, tone and expression both inscrutable.

Evie pulled a face. "I think you and I _both_ know, so stop playin' like you don't," she said, trying not to snap at him.

Lea looked her full in the face, and his expression became rather hard. She held his gaze, breathing deeply through her nose before she closed her eyes and passed a hand over her face.

"I would like to on behalf of Lynn apologise for the way she dealt with the situation, and in her defence, she was under an awful lot of stress, and probably made some stupid decisions with regards to dealing with the fall out. And I'm sorry that _I've_ been avoiding you," she chanced a glance at him, and saw he was smiling a little, eyebrow raised. "But in _my_ defence, I've been trying to get back in touch with reality lately, and I'm still struggling with it, so if you'd give us a bit longer to sort out the chaotic mess that is my brain at the moment, I'll be more than happy to have this conversation with you properly, later." She didn't realise she was shaking, or how tense she felt, until she had finished speaking, and the ensuing silence felt rather jarring.

"Okay. _Or_ ," Lea leaned against the table and sat up a little straighter, looking her full in the face.

Feeling graceless and foolish, and not especially brave, Evie returned his gaze as directly as she could.

"We could draw a line in the sand and start over."

His words hung in the air between them, and Evie flicked her eyes away for a few moments.

"Or I guess we could do that," she said flippantly, feeling disorientated and confused. It could be that she had never been good at these kinds of talks, or maybe her body wasn't as stable as she had first thought this morning.

"Fine. Hi, I'm Lea." He held out his hand to her.

Evie looked at it for a long moment before she dropped the pencil and took it firmly in hers. He gave her fingers a squeeze she couldn't quite analyse. "Hi Lea, call me Eaves."

They let go and both sat back in their seats, and looked each other up and down. Evie had to look away first, she was starting to feel spaced out and it was getting hard to think straight. Rosie had told her proper hydration helped in these situations…

"You know," Lea said slowly as she replaced the bottle in her bag on the floor after taking a long draught. "I've been there. Coming back after being a Nobody for years. If you need anything…" he wasn't looking at her when he said this, but she could see a definite softening of his usually ironic expression. It made her look again.

"Thanks." She smiled uncertainly, and was rewarded with a very warm smile in return, that reminded her of why Lynn had actually kind of liked him in the first place.

After another long and not quite so uncomfortable silence, Lea moved as if to say something, but whatever he was intending to was drowned out by sound of the doors crashing open, and Kyo traipsed into the room with a stack of books.

"You said you wanted some reference books from Ansem's study," he said without preamble, tipping them onto the table in front of Evie.

"Cheers, Kyo." She said with a wan smile, pushing them aside for the moment so she could still work on her list.

"Hi Lea," Kyo added with a grin as he set his familiar, a hare called Hester, on the table as well. Evie was intensely glad he was looking more cheerful again.

"Hey Kyo," Lea said with his usual smirk, and reached up to ruffle Kyo's unruly copper coloured hair. "You busy today?"

"No." He looked blankly at the older man. "Everyone's telling me I should be taking it easy. Do I look sick or something?" he asked without any sarcasm.

"I think what they mean is you had a bit of a shock the other day," Evie said, giving him an amused look, and laughing when he scowled at her. "And they're worried you might be bottling it up inside. Plus, anything happens to you and your big sis will be in here, dragons blazin' an' all. It's in our own best interest to look after you."

Kyo folded his arms and hunched his shoulders with a snarl. "I'm a bit emotionally immature, _not_ a delicate little flower! Stop treating me like a I'm gonna smash apart!"

"Kay, calm down." Evie waved a hand at him and sighed. "You understand our collective concern, all the same, yeah?"

Kyo looked right through her, a somewhat disconcerting look he had given Lynn in the past. "You _are_ all right, aren't you?" he asked quietly, suddenly looking ten years old.

"Yeah mate, I'm fine. I'm a bit worried about you, m'self. And y'know that's just cause I care, not because I think you're a delicate little flower." Kyo reached out to take her hand, and she gave his an affectionate squeeze. Lynn's deep fondness for him had left a big imprint on Evie's heart. Unable to resist, she added, "Course, if you _were_ a delicate little flower, you'd be the prettiest little _Ranunculaceae_ of the lot,"

With a fearsome glower Kyo snapped, "And you'd be a stupid dandelion, because you're an annoying _weed_." And with that, he stomped out of the library in a huff.

Lea and Evie exchanged looks with raised eyebrows, before turning their attention to the hare, sat peaceably on the table, for all the world as though she was asleep.

"Should we say something?"

"Nahhh, he'll be back." Lea said unconcernedly, tilting the chair back and lounging at his ease.

Evie went back to faffing around with her doodles and notes, and Lea took the time to examine the ceiling. After a while Kyo stomped back into the room, red faced, and scooped up Hester before he scuttled off again, trying and failing to go unnoticed. Evie made the mistake of looking up, and saw Lea's expression, and had to fight not to laugh until Kyo had exited the library.

"Is something funny?" Lea asked lightly, giving her a mockingly amazed look.

Evie coughed and loudly cleared her throat. "What, who, me? No! No," she made a show of waving the notion away before fixing him with a serious look. "I just had something in my throat," she deliberately cleared her throat again, and shaking her head before fixing her attention onto the papers before her.

Looking up through the hair that had fallen across her eyes, she saw his smirk, and covered her mouth to keep from laughing. Flicking a lock of hair aside, she reflected as the hilarity died down, that she was in sore need of a haircut.

XOXOX


	5. Being a Good Keeper

**AN: I apologise for the long delay, I'm struggling with my resolution of being more organised xD I also got distracted because a prequel to one of my favourite book series was recently released. It also just so happened to be a fandom I have intended to be a part of the Wider World in this story's universe, which is talked about a bit at the end of this particular chapter and has been mentioned once or twice in the previous story, so watch this space for more Pellinor related plot ;)**

 **Incidentally, I have been working on some stories specifically for Pellinor, which are completely unrelated to this story, for anyone interested in the series. I hope to have a couple of those up sometime soon.**

 ** _Being a Good Keeper_**

When the day did finally come for Jared to be taken into the care of the Guild, it was a blessed relief all around. Terra's patience continued to fragment all week, and Mel's almost snapped completely two days before the departure. Rosie had contacted them that morning to let them know of the arrangements and when and where to meet them, and that afternoon Ven and Mel were in the library with the two boys, willing the hours to trickle by faster. Leo curled himself into his usual corner and dozed with Koba snuggled into a tight ball between his horns while they sat at a table, busy working. Tarquin appeared to be dyslexic to some degree; Ven couldn't see any evidence that he had poor eyesight, though he seemed to really struggle with reading, but did know how to write, so it wasn't a case of illiteracy. Ven had found a book of poems for him, worked in large print to make it a bit easier for him, and the boy settled down and was soon thoroughly absorbed – completely oblivious to his cousin's smouldering ill temper as he slowly worked his way through the pages.

After a while, Terra came to join them, and started sketching in a notebook while playing with a crystal Mel had passed to him in his free hand. Mel herself was reading a book written in Sanskrit, a language she could speak very well but until recently had been unable to read or write in. Ven was writing an essay for Master Yen Sid, and after some initial umm-ing and ahh-ing he found the flow of the subject (classical magery) and wrote fervently and continuously for some minutes before he stopped to reread the three long paragraphs he had completed. After having decided that he had in fact gone off on a tangent from the title question, and intending to bring it back round to the subject at hand, Ven leant over his work and put pen to paper once more with great concentration.

"Hey, Wentus."

Ven didn't react at first; he paused because Jared's voice suddenly distracted him, but he didn't realise he was being addressed until the boy repeated himself more forcefully.

"Are you talking to me?" Ven asked, looking up from his work.

"Yeah, _Wentus_. That's your name isn't it?"

"Err, _no_. It isn't." he said simply, fighting to keep his eyebrow from rising.

"But it's a Latin based name, right?"

By now Terra had looked up from his sketch, crystal hidden in his fist. Ven caught his gaze steadily before it flickered to Mel's face; she was staring fixedly with great intent at the book before her. Leo snorted softly in his doze, unaware of the mounting tension in the room.

"Yeah, it is."

"You know the 'V' is supposed to be pronounced as a 'wuh' sound, don't you?" Jared asked, a malicious glint in his eyes.

Without turning his gaze away, Ven looked him full in the face, hands on his knees, relaxed, and took a calm and steadying breath despite the quickening of his pulse. For a brief moment, he could see Vanitas' cruel smile, but the image was gone as soon as he had thought of him, and he tried to push the thought out of his mind. Jared wasn't worth taking any kind of bait from, and he would be gone soon anyway. Tarquin was trying to hide behind his book of poems, his brow betraying the flush that must have been rising in the rest of his face.

"Probably, if you were speaking classical Latin." Ven said calmly. "But we're not. My name is pronounced with a 'V'." He had had this very conversation before; apparently it was something to do with the way Old Latin was written, according to Lynn and Rose. The letter 'V' had sometimes been written curved, like a 'U', which gave it an 'oo' sound; closer inspection of older manuscripts and inscriptions on old coins had appeared to confirm this. It had been a fun and interesting fact, and Terra and Lea had heckled him for it for about ten minutes, and then they had all moved on with their lives. Languages were dynamic, fluid, and often specific to their place in space and time; they spoke the same language as Rosie, who would call it 'English', but it was known across the Worlds by so many different names, each with its own dialects, accents and colloquialisms. The older Classical languages, even more so.

"But if it's in Latin, you're saying it _wrong_." Jared said with a sneer, digging his claws in. "Right, _Wentus_?"

Ven frowned, opened his mouth without really knowing what he would say, and jumped when Mel slammed her book shut with a loud noise. The look she gave the boy was enough to instantly chill him into ashamed silence. Then, without looking at any of them Mel pushed the book aside, bent down to scoop up the egg in its bag by her feet, and she walked out of the library without a word or backward glance. Alert to her every movement after she had snapped the book so violently shut, Leo heaved himself to his feet, struggling for a moment with the unaccustomed and delicate weight on his head, and carefully hurried after her without glancing at the table either.

Jared kept his head down and said nothing, though after a while his shame appeared to give way and anger seemed to be the dominant emotion on his face. He didn't say anything to anyone for the rest of the day, merely glowering darkly in the other direction.

Ven eventually found Mel outside near the summit as the sun was setting, lying on her front on Leo's neck with her elbows propped up on the crown of his head, her expression pensive. Koba was curled up on Leo's snout, dozing.

"You okay?" Ven asked softly, and jumped when she yelped and slid sideways off Leo's neck on the grass in a heap.

"You startled me!" she gasped, dragging herself back up, clutching her heart. She accepted his proffered hand and he pulled her to her feet; Leo twitched with concern, unable to move with Koba balanced on his nose, and settled when they both sat down either side of his muzzle on the grass, remaining silent throughout for fear of disturbing the chick. "Sorry about earlier…"

"Nah, it's fine," he waved her apology away. "He's not worth it."

"I'll be glad when it's over."

"Mmm…" was all he could think of to say, and they lapsed into companionable silence.

After that Mel avoided Jared, and did everything she could to blank him when she couldn't, which seemed to infuriate him more than anything else she could have done. He even gathered the courage on his last day to collar her about it, perhaps in his mind thinking he could take her to task over her 'insolence', and told her she was being very rude to them and how unbecoming it was of her as a host.

Mel looked him in the eye with a steely glint in hers, having to look up at him because of the difference in height, and said coldly, "You are a guest in this place. My mother would be ashamed of me if I treated my hosts so poorly. I have more important things to be concerned with than the vanity of a child. Please get out of my way."

Jared's hands fell nerveless to his sides, and when he didn't move for shock Mel side stepped neatly around him and went about her business like nothing had happened. It left him angrier than ever once he got over the shock, and Terra questioned Mel's wisdom in having riled him up even further, especially when they were so close to being rid of him. He all but ran away when Mel fixed that look on him, and Ven hovered by her side worriedly.

"I have spent too many years bowing my head to people like that." She pointed at the door. "I have made allowances for him, and he has treated me without respect. I won't put up it in my own home." And no more was said on the subject.

Handing Jared over into the custody of the Guild was fairly straightforward; they went to the place Rosie directed, at the correct time, and Aqua and Mel hung behind with Leo while Lea watched Tarquin. Ven and Terra went to the inn at the edge of the allocated town, which was a general drop off point for travelling Mages on Guild business, and Jared was taken in by a pair of kindly looking Mages – both men – who promised to take good care of him, and tried to put him at ease as they led him away inside the building.

Rosie's Guild Mentor was there too, as well as herself and a fellow mentee. Horace of Gent was a rather eccentric man with a frizzy and magnificent grey beard, with dark balding hair flecked with white, thick-rimmed glasses and the sort of robe that would have been quite at home at Hogwarts.

"So, pray tell, where is that marvellous dragon of yours today?" he asked, oblivious to Rosie's distress at the mention.

"Not here," Terra said in a sufficiently vague and careless tone to deter further questioning.

"Rosaline, I do wish you would stop fussing my dear. Lars, I must speak with Garret before he leaves. Will you two young things be all right while I'm inside?"

"Of course," Lars said with a bright smile. He was another Mage of the Ladonier Guild, currently in training as a Knight, and so arrayed in their uniform of brown knee length robes that made him look almost comically like a Jedi in training. His skin was the darkest of any Ven had ever seen, and his teeth flashed white in stark contrast when he smiled. His accent was also near identical to Rosie's, as far as Ven could tell; they came from different Worlds, and by most accounts rather different cultures, so it was slightly disconcerting. Ven had heard Lars speak in his mother tongue once before, and had been completely baffled by the sound, syntax, and accent, which made his rendition of standard English all the more perplexing. As far as he could tell, Lars had been brought up from an early age to be multi-lingual, so Ven supposed that was why he spoke that particular language like a native.

Terra couldn't contain his snort of amusement for long, and once Horace was out of earshot he turned to Rosie and said, " _Rosaline_?"

Rosie folded her arms and gave Terra a stony look. Lars started to laugh, and put an arm around her shoulders, giving her a friendly squeeze that failed to mollify.

"Horace is very much set in his ways. He has always taken a person's given use name, no matter nickname or custom, and uses it exclusively. It causes some problems at times, what with some people going by their middle names instead, and so on." He beamed at the long-suffering look Rosie gave him. "And poor Rose here is no exception, are you Rosé?"

After they made their goodbyes and as they began to part ways, Ven overheard her saying to Lars with exasperation, "And you wonder why I never introduce myself as Rosaline…" which made him laugh good-naturedly.

Ven turned to look back as they were walking down the road, and Rosie waved from the door of the inn. He waved back, and the two Mages went inside. He then turned to look at Terra, who breathed a long low sigh of relief and visibly sagged with mental fatigue.

"Just the one now." Ven said cheerfully.

"Until that egg hatches," Terra sighed, rubbing his temples. "And then there's three dragons running around the place, as well as Tarquin…"

Ven had nothing to say to that, and they walked on in silence. They met up with the others, and went on to Radiant Garden to pick up some supplies. Mel hadn't been able to go hunting recently, and they needed well-stocked cupboards just to keep Leo healthy, so Terra and Mel bartered with the local butchers while Lea grabbed Sora by the scruff of the neck (running past them intent on some errand for Leon) and dragged him back to help baby sit Tarquin, who was looking quite lost and jumpy now that his only family had gone, and refusing to look any woman – of which there were many walking around – in the eye.

Aqua took the opportunity to lean against Leo's flank with a heavy sigh, and flop into a heap on the ground beside him. Leo snorted and lifted his head to nuzzle at her, grating when she scratched his jaw affectionately. He then turned to look at Ven, who was holding Koba and rocking unconsciously from side to side, wilting as he did so. After a good hour or so, Mel and Terra traipsed back to them, dumped the packages of meat and other foods in a pile by the rest of their bags, and proceeded to collapse either side of Aqua in a heap with a unified groan.

Evie came strolling by then, looking perkier than they had ever seen either her or Lynn before. She looked the lot of them up and down silently with folded arms, eyebrow raised, and then proclaimed, "You all look traumatised. Rhi! Bring forth the ale!" with an imperious flick of her wrist and a clap of her hands, to which the older Master surprisingly did not complain. Evalyn was disconcertingly very like, and not so like Lynn, all at the same time.

"Y'know," Evie said later that afternoon to Aqua when they were preparing to go home. "We'd offer to help out with the new kid, but seeing as he's having problems adjustin', me and Rhi 'ent exactly the best hands you could ask for. But, we can help with the dragons, and I can take Kairi so she doesn't feel quite so left out."

Aqua gave her a tired but amused look. Kairi had been quite irked that she had not been able to hang out with Sora and Riku all afternoon because of Tarquin. She didn't blame him for it – it was beyond any of their control – but that didn't assuage her annoyance, all the same.

"That would be a big help thanks- Evie." Aqua caught herself in time.

Evie stifled a laugh and threw her an unguarded smile, her bright red eyes twinkling with wry mischief.

"Don't worry, I keep forgetting too!" she said in a conspiratorial whisper.

XOXOX

Mel was looking forward to visiting Berk for a long weekend, after the ordeals of finding the chick and egg, Evie, and dealing with Jared for that agonisingly long week. She was also a bit nervous, because she would be going by herself with only Leo and Koba. Aqua needed the two men to help her with Tarquin (dropping the boy in the deep end would do little to help matters) and with Berk's strong tendency towards blurred gender roles, taking him there with her and further out of his comfort zone would traumatise him. Mel didn't like to think how a conversation between Tarquin and someone like Astrid would go down, but it certainly wouldn't be pretty given the gulf between their upbringings. The egg was finally back in Tarquin's possession, and Ven was keeping a very close eye on both of them for Mel while they were gone. Sora, Riku and Kairi escorted them to Berk, and arranged a time in four days to pick them up again before going off on their own scouting trip.

Leo landed on a stretch of grass on the outskirts of the town to avoid an ongoing spat between a couple of Monstrous Nightmares near the main square, and plodded along up the hill to the forge while they heard Snotlout in the distance screaming something at the twins about his best dagger going missing.

Mel turned and smiled when she heard Astrid hailing them, and carefully slid out of the saddle with Leo's help, holding Koba close as the young Viking ran towards them.

"Hi Mel!"

"Hey Astrid, how are you?"

"Great!" she looked up at the saddle expectantly, and then fixed Mel in place with a look. "You brought your bow, right?"

"Yup," Mel nodded at the rolled up leather tube that held her weapon, tied carefully to the saddle where it had seen much neglect in the last couple of weeks.

"Great! I need someone to practise with – that is, if Hiccup hasn't given you any jobs to do yet."

"I haven't seen him yet, we just arrived," Mel explained as Astrid reached up with no trepidation to hug Leo's muzzle and scratch his jaw affectionately in greeting as he bent down to her.

"Then I call dibs on you," Astrid grinned, rubbing Leo's ears. She noticed the bundle tied to Mel's chest then, and said, "What's that?"

"This is Koba," Mel said, very gently disentangling the chick from the sling and holding her up for inspection. "She's a baby Keyblade Dragon,"

"Aww!" Astrid cooed. "She's so tiny!" she looked surreptitiously up at Leo, who rumbled deep in his chest before stooping down to nuzzle at Koba. She had been squirming in protest at being moved out of the warmth of the sling, but she stopped to lick his nose and wagged her tail happily at the contact, resting a tiny paw on the end of his enormous snout. "Wow. She looks so different to Leo. You sure she's the same type of dragon?"

"Fairly. We don't know all that much about their species." Mel said, slipping Koba back into the sling.

They were talking about the physical differences between Koba and Leo, wondering what the spines were for (Astrid instantly suggested they could be a fin-like structure like Leo's tail, which piqued Mel's interest and imagination) when Hiccup saw them and came running, yelling for Mel's attention. They turned to look in surprise, and then Astrid started laughing hard.

"Oh, I didn't tell you, did I?" she said to Mel, struggling to contain herself.

"Tell me wh-?" she didn't get any further because Hiccup grabbed her shoulders and swung both of them around with his momentum before he started tugging her towards the forge.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I need you to come with me _now-_ "

"She just got here, Hiccup!" Astrid complained loudly, but followed nonetheless.

Leo trotted along behind them, sniffing at Hiccup with intense curiosity and keeping Koba in his sights at all times.

"I know, I know! But we have some Gronckle Iron at the forge, and if I don't use it Gobber's going to scrap it for parts, and I _really_ really want to see if I can make the buckles on Leo's saddle lighter and more durable-"

Astrid snorted derisively, but she said no more, choosing instead to smirk at him while Mel was tugged along in a surprised daze. "But the saddle's perfect," she said when they were at the forge and Hiccup was banging around looking for tools and materials. "You don't need to go out of your way to-"

"Oh forget it, Mel. You know what he's like when he gets all worked up like this," Astrid said dismissively, waving a hand and grinning. "Can I hold Koba?" she added, eyeing the chick eagerly.

Mel was a bit surprised when Leo snarled at her as Koba was handed over. Astrid paused for a moment, but she wasn't deterred. She did, after all, live with many different species of fire breathing dragons, each of which were aggressive to varying degrees; it would take a lot more than that to faze her.

"You know Astrid, she won't hurt Koba." Mel said gently to Leo, who snarled at her instead before he sat down heavily on his haunches and continued to curl his lips at her. "Leo, that's _enough_." He spat at her and quickly laid down on his belly, tucking his limbs in and around himself and covering his sides with his wings, but not covering his face so he could keep a beady eye fixed on Astrid.

"What's _his_ problem?" Astrid asked, nonplussed as she cuddled the little dragon.

"It's been a difficult couple of weeks for us…" Mel sighed, massaging her temples. She started explaining some of what had happened, and Astrid listened attentively with Koba lying belly up on her lap, humming happily at having her tummy rubbed so expertly.

While they talked, Hiccup went to retrieve Leo's saddle, and while the Keyblade Dragon did not hamper his efforts, he did not go out of his way to make Hiccup's task any easier. In the end, Mel had to help him, and even Astrid put the chick down to assist. Mel rebuked him for his behaviour, and received a glower in response. She met his gaze levelly and sighed only when he had looked down and away.

"What's with him? I've never seen Leo behave like that toward you. I mean, Snotlout I can understand, but even Hiccup!" Astrid said after they had hauled the saddle and all its attachments into the workshop.

"Is he feeling okay?" Hiccup asked Mel quietly so Leo wouldn't hear over the sounds of clanging metal.

"Yes, I think he's just a bit concerned about Koba. He's been very protective of her since we found her."

"Oh, so he's jealous," Astrid gave Hiccup an amused look. "Just like Toothless was when you brought home Torch,"

"Maybe," he said offhandedly, a stick of charcoal behind his ear leaving a smudge across his face and hair as he reached for it. "Okay, this is what I was thinking of doing…"

Hiccup didn't exactly redesign the entire saddle, as such…he simply refitted every individual metal link and buckle with Gronckle Iron, and then once _that_ was done he had some ideas about how the new metal hinges and buckles could be rearranged for maximum comfort, economy and practicality. Astrid laughed at him and said, " _Any_ excuse, Hiccup!"

"So how many fish is this worth?" Mel asked, totting up on her fingers roughly the hours of labour she owed Hiccup for the work. She might have to go out and snag a few hares, too. Maybe find some amber, or some ore… Although, when she had gone to drop off the matrimonial tunic, the village shaman had asked her if she would come on the annual mammoth hunt that year. Leather made from mammoth hide was exceptionally durable, and when treated with the right combination of chemicals, fire resistant. Basically, perfect for Berk.

"What? Nothing! You already paid me for the saddle,"

"But – but the Gronckle Iron!" Mel insisted, gesturing desperately at the newly improved saddle and feeling that she was already outvoted on the issue, but persisted nonetheless. Gronckle Iron had been discovered accidentally when Meatlug had eaten a large amount of different types of rock in a short space of time, and regurgitated some unusual lava. Gobber had fashioned it into a great many different things, and Hiccup had made himself a snazzy shield that was ultra lightweight and very strong, that could be folded out into a crossbow, had a built in mini catapult _and_ could shoot bolas and store long lengths of rope inside a small compartment in the centre. The practical up shot was, there were _lots_ of possibilities for the application of Gronckle Iron. And the down side was that no one was quite sure of the exact conditions needed to make Gronckle Iron; it was a very finite resource, of which there had been no raw ore to work with until recently, and probably only Odin knew when they would have another deposit.

Putting a price on just the metal alone made Mel gulp, let alone the labour costs.

"Oh, Gobber won't mind. There's plenty left over for his 'fetching pairs of earrings'!" Hiccup said unconcernedly, waving a hammer over his shoulder at her and affecting Gobber's intonation.

"I'd just drop it." Astrid said, hefting Koba further up onto her shoulder where the chick squeaked and sniffed in Leo's general direction. "You've lost the argument."

"I feel like I'm taking advantage of his generosity." Mel said in a small voice.

Astrid snorted at her silliness and said bracingly, "At least you and Leo will get good use out of it. The last thing we need is the twins running around with _anything_ made of Gronckle Iron,"

Leo sat up and turned around at a familiar sound, and croaked a greeting as Toothless bounced into the workshop. "Hey bud," Hiccup said absently, scratching his neck and gently pushing his dragon aside. "I'll be with ya in a sec…"

After a while, Leo was mollified with his new and improved saddle; lighter, more flexible, hopefully more durable…though he kept snapping at Toothless whenever he felt the Night Fury got too close to Koba. At first Toothless was surprised, and then he was offended and started getting ratty with Leo, and their respective riders both rushed in to smooth things over.

"You know Toothless is just curious," Mel reminded him gently, rubbing his jaws affectionately.

"C'mon bud, don't take it personally. He's just trying to protect her," Hiccup said soothingly, and Toothless snorted with annoyance but did not badger Leo any further.

Naturally, after having tinkered with the saddle, Hiccup was dying to know what all the adjustments had done to the saddle's performance, and if there was _any_ further room for improvement. Mel was quite reluctant to try it out with Koba in tow, and Leo wasn't happy with the idea of leaving her side, so Hiccup had to admit defeat for the moment, though he was clearly impatient to find out. They made their way over to the arena further along the coast of the island, where the Berk Dragon Training Academy was located. It used to be the dragon-killing arena, but no one really talked about that any more – especially not in front of the more sensitive dragons.

"So Koba's a Keyblade Dragon, huh?" Hiccup asked as they crossed the ramps, suspended over the sullen sea below, that led into the arena. He was holding her aloft, studying her with a practised eye, and she was being very unintentionally cute as she cocked her head to one side and looked back at him, tail wagging. She raised a paw and tried without success to bat at his nose. "She doesn't look all that much like Leo,"

"I know, but she definitely _is_ a Keyblade Dragon." Mel said firmly. "It's…a little hard to explain."

"So the feathers will grow in later?" Hiccup went on, apparently not noticing Astrid's rather uncanny impersonation of him behind his back as they mounted the stone ramp down into the main area of the academy.

"Yup. She's not growing as quickly as Leo did, though." Mel started explaining the circumstances in which they had found Koba, and how they had thought for a while she might not make it.

"Hmm…" Hiccup set her on top of a large barrel and they all appraised her. Koba shivered in the biting wind, and Leo sat down beside her so she could rub herself against his warm feathers and nuzzle him for security. "She clearly likes Leo," Hiccup laughed.

Leo lowered his head so Koba could snuffle against his muzzle, and then Leo fixed Toothless with a hard look as he slowly scuttled along on his belly up to the barrel, and peeked his nose over the top. Koba turned around unsteadily and slowly inched towards the Night Fury, her nose working inquisitively at the new scent. They gently bumped noses, and Leo held his breath for a moment. Koba wagged her tail, beating it clumsily against the wood, and Toothless gave her an affectionate lick. Leo breathed out in a deep exhalation that caught Koba's attention. She sat back on her haunches – an almost perfect, tiny replica of Leo's own mannerisms – and looked up at the older dragon expectantly, as if awaiting his bidding.

"Hiccup-!" They all turned to see Fishlegs approaching. He stopped when he saw Leo and Mel, and rushed forwards eagerly to greet them. "Hey Mel!"

"Hello Fishlegs! How are you?" Mel asked, holding out her hands to rub Meatlug's ears as the Gronckle trotted up to her like an enthusiastic and affectionate dog, and instinctively held her breath as she received a greeting lick. "Hello Meatlug,"

"Great thanks! Actually," he shot a look at Hiccup, who sighed, and went on, "I wanted to ask you both something." He took a deep breath. "I've been wanting to add Leo to the Book of Dragons for a while now,"

Mel wrapped her arms around herself against the chill wind and pondered how best to respond to this diplomatically. She listened to Fishlegs' reasons, some of which were quite valid (in the spirit of the pursuit of knowledge) and nodded silently while Hiccup tried to curb his friend's enthusiasm.

"I'd have to talk to Aqua about it first," Mel said carefully. "The Keyblade isn't really general knowledge, and neither is the Keyblade Dragon. There are…people who would try to hurt them. Of course, we trust you all here-"

"Except the twins." Astrid butted in cynically.

Mel made a little gesture with her hand, face expressionless while Hiccup added, "Well that just goes without saying,"

"We just can't be sure of everyone who ends up reading the Book of Dragons. If someone from outside comes through and reads about the Keyblade Dragons, it could put them in danger."

Fishlegs was obviously put out, and hung his head in defeat – and then he caught sight of Koba and shook all over with delight. "Oooh a new baby dragon!" he flung his arms out wide and started towards her, and shrieked with terror when Leo bent down and snapped his jaws at him with a deep growl. He dived behind Meatlug, who cowered under Leo's scowl.

"Hey!" Mel stepped over and put her hands either side of his face, and rubbed soothing circles against his cheeks. "Leo, calm down. You know these people, you know Fishlegs. Koba is completely safe here. Why are you behaving like this?"

Leo snorted and closed his eyes before turning away slightly, but not enough so that Mel couldn't still touch him. Koba had jumped when he had made his aggressive move, and was now whining and batting a paw at him in order to get his attention and approval again.

"I'm sorry, Fishlegs. Leo's being a bit over protective at the moment. Koba was very sick for a while…" Mel explained.

"It's okay," he got to his feet and dusted himself down, not to be deterred in the face of a new dragon to observe. "Ohh but she's so _cute_!" he quailed under the glance Leo shot at him briefly before he turned his attention back to Koba. He grandly ignored Toothless when the Night Fury made a circuit around him to sit by his side and start batting at him as Koba had done.

"Toothless!" Hiccup said despairingly. "What are you doing?"

Mel took the opportunity to pick Fishlegs' brains, and they had a long discussion about nutrition while they all cleaned up the academy in the wake of the twins' antics earlier on that day.

"Well it really all depends on the species in question," Fishlegs said at last after they had restacked all the crates against the wall and swept up most of the ashes. "Mother dragons usually partially digest food for their babies to eat. Also, for some dragons like the Deadly Nadder, the mother's saliva can actually help the baby dragons fight off infections and diseases so they don't get sick as often as other species,"

Mel paused to ponder this idea. She watched Leo, who was giving Toothless a stern ignoring; Koba was sat on his front paws, off the cold hard floor of the arena, and Toothless was doing everything he could to get Leo's attention, short of hitting him with a plasma blast. Leo just closed his eyes and flicked his ears, and snorted rather hard, making Koba look up at him curiously.

"That's an interesting idea."

"Oh! And the same goes for Fireworms!" Fishlegs added eagerly.

Astrid rolled her eyes at Mel as she walked by with a thick coil of rope over her shoulder, but said nothing. Mel turned aside and tried to hide her smile. She had always admired passion, wherever she happened to find it.

"Well, she looks remarkably healthy for being so close to- _Toothless_!" Hiccup cried in exasperation.

Toothless had jumped onto Leo's swishing tail, and rather hard by the sound of it. Leo yelped and sat up, jostling Koba as he went, before he roared at Toothless, who retreated hastily. Koba squealed and attempted to bury her head between Leo's front paws, shaking like a leaf in a high wind.

"Sorry, Leo,"

"I think he just wants to play, like you usually do." Mel said gently. "Here, I'll take her for a bit."

Leo whined and tried to follow them as Mel took Koba to the edge of the arena, but Toothless ran after him and worried his flanks, still trying to get the larger dragon's attention. In the end, he grabbed a mouthful of tail fins and bit hard; Leo roared and reared onto his hind legs, dancing sideways before he landed heavily on all fours and spun round to face Toothless. The Night Fury roared with delight and reared up as well, batting at the air with his front legs and shaking his wings from side to side in an open invitation. Leo pounced with another roar, and finally gave chase, to Toothless' great delight.

The exercise was good, and it got a lot of Leo's pent up anger out of his system. In the meantime, Mel and Hiccup discussed Koba's continued care with Fishlegs, and by the time the other dragons had run themselves down into a doze, she felt a lot more confident in her ability to care for the hatchling.

The next few days were busy, but very refreshing; there was no shortage of odd jobs to be done on Berk, and Mel enjoyed the pace of life – and the chorus of dragon song pulsing from every corner of the compass. She helped Gothi with her healing rounds, fished and hunted for the traders who came to port on the third day and kept some of the meat back for the table at home. She also gave Leo a lot of attention that he had so craved from her. After having stared Hiccup down, walking in several circles around him before sniffing suspiciously into his hair, Leo had decided the young Viking was trustworthy, and so consented to let him hold Koba while he went flying with Mel. Toothless snuffled around curiously, watching the little dragon on Hiccup's lap, and very gently licked her neck when she turned to stare back. She wiggled her rump in delight and squeaked loudly, trying to get closer to the Night Fury.

By the time Leo touched down again by the arena, having spent a good half an hour playing aerial tag with Stormfly and practising his acrobatics for a further forty minutes or so, Koba was all over Toothless, and the three dragons all curled up together that night by the hearth in the chief's house, sound asleep while Mel and Hiccup talked long into the night about many different things: fishing, archery, dragons, drawing, smithing, sailing – to name a few. She also admitted to him her fears about the task ahead, and wondered aloud if she was equal to it.

Hiccup didn't say anything for a long time. He finally took a stick and prodded the fire with it meditatively, and then said, "You know, Gobber once said to me that you never know what you're capable of until you have to step up. He once lifted a full-grown, Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare, with one hook," he raised his hand and curled a finger over in demonstration. "To save my father's life. And he's never been able to do anything like it since. Well, he says he _could_ if it wasn't for his poor aching back." He gave Mel a gentle smile, and leaned over to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and giving it a squeeze. "What I mean is – I know you got this."

Mel smiled back gratefully. "Thanks, Hiccup. That really means a lot to me."

XOXOX

Their return was heralded by a very familiar roar, and Ven and Terra practically fell down the stairs in their haste to greet the returning Keeper. Aqua followed more slowly checking over her shoulder on Tarquin, who was watching Leo with open awe and curiosity. He reached into the canvas bag and cradled the egg in his hands for a moment, gazing on the oily grey surface wonderingly before turning his gaze back to the adult dragon.

Leo landed heavily in the courtyard and shook himself down before he straightened up and lifted his head to look at the two men. He chirruped in greeting and crouched down to let Mel dismount. She barely had her feet on the ground when Terra swept her off of them and into a bear hug.

"Don't ever leave us again!" he demanded of her, then set her down on the ground and went to rub Leo's face. The dragon beat his tail against the ground in response and licked him the length of his body with a happy whine, and Terra was too overjoyed to see him again to mind.

"Didn't realise I was so popular," Mel said dazedly as Ven bent down to give her a more gentle hug. "Astrid was begging me not to leave her this morning. The twins were at it again…"

"Come here you," Aqua said, grabbing Mel's arm and pulling her around for another embrace, which she returned warmly.

They waved at the gummi ship, still in the air above, and saw the occupants of the cockpit wave back before it took off into the sky.

"I didn't think you'd miss us so much," Mel said as they all went back inside. She smiled at Tarquin, and he dropped his gaze to the floor, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. "How is the egg?" she asked gently to no one in particular.

"Egg-like." Terra said after a long pause, with a vague shrug.

"Helpful, Terra." Aqua said, a little sarcastically. "How's Berk?" she added, as they left the atrium and made their way towards the kitchen.

Aqua flicked Mel's ear when she said, without a trace of guile in her gentle expression, "Berk-like."

Koba was passed around and made a fuss of, and Leo followed her everywhere she went, looming over whoever's shoulder she happened to be balanced against. Aqua got more information out of Mel, and deduced it had been a good weekend for them – very peaceful and productive. She wished she could say they had made progress too, but Tarquin was proving to be a difficult case. Not helped by the fact that Master Jondalar had dropped by unexpectedly for a visit, with no warning at all. Mel stared at her wide eyed at this mention before she buckled forward and inward, covering her face with her hands, a wordless groan on her lips.

"Yeah, that's kinda how Terra looked when he found out, too," Ven said brightly, and beamed further still at the black look Terra shot him.

Master Jondalar was another Keyblade Master, who had trained very far away under a different mentor. He was… _unique_ , to say the least and most polite. He also had the habit of getting up Terra's nose – the moment she had had a chance, Aqua had contacted Rhiannon and Evie, and they had rushed over to expunge him as quickly as possible.

"Few sandwiches short of a picnic, if I'm honest." Evie had said, wrinkling her nose in her attempt to be diplomatic behind his back.

"Nice lad. Shame about the brain," Rhiannon had added, clapping Terra on the back in a show of solidarity.

Evie had been absent for so long, and they came up with some vague story about where she had been travelling in the meantime; the novelty of seeing her again after all these years was enough to keep Jondalar occupied and give the rest of them some peace and space to breathe for the moment.

Mel looked wordlessly from one face to another, and then to Leo who was twitching with her own agitation. "I'm only going to say this once – I don't want him anywhere _near_ Koba."

"No, no, Rhiannon's taking care of it." Terra waved the subject away with a sigh. "He won't come back here any time soon."

" _Good_." Mel breathed more easily. Then, she turned back to Terra and said, "I have a proposition for you."

"Oh?" He asked. By that point they were in the kitchen, and he was pulling a pasta bake from the oven. Mel's favourite – ham, garlic and three types of cheese; her face brightened considerably at the sight. "Do tell,"

Mel sighed and ran a hand through her hair, which hung freely today in a mass of curls, having had no time to braid it. "I've been asked to take part in a summer mammoth hunt. The people think Leo will bring good luck. Would you come with me?"

Terra paused thoughtfully over the tray with a serving spoon, and turned to look at her. "What do you need?"

"Another Keyblade Wielder. And someone strong enough to help with the gutting." She spread her hands in apology to Ven, who was handing her a bowl. "I would ask Ven, but-"

"Not meaty enough," he interjected, standing beside Terra and flexing his considerably skinnier arm muscles beside his friend's.

Mel smiled up at him from under a lock of hair, and folded her arms behind her back. "Sorry," she murmured. "But it had to be said…"

They thrashed out the details over dinner and made arrangements for the trip. Leo rejected the idea of leaving Koba behind, and got very ratty with them when they continued to insist on it. Mel had to take him aside and calmly explain it was too risky to take such a small dragon on a hunt like that, and she needed Leo's help to bring the mammoths down. They needed the supply of meat, and she could make a lot of things with the hide and hair that could either be used by them or traded for other things (probably more meat). After a lot of gentle persuasion, Leo conceded to Mel's wishes, and griped gracelessly behind her back when she turned her attention to other tasks for the evening.

They all eventually retired to the common room, and Mel and Ven started explaining to Tarquin about the care and training of Keyblade Dragons. They showed him their notes and some photos of Leo, little under a year ago, and he stared in amazement at the difference between the pictures and the dragon sat before him. The boy's wide-eyed astonishment amused Leo, and he snuffled closer to sniff him and lick his cheek, which made Tarquin jump. As Leo withdrew, realising he was pushing it, Tarquin rubbed his wet cheek absently, looking first from Koba on Ven's lap, to the egg in his, and then back to Leo, who was snuffling at Mel's hands and trying to entice the chocolate he knew was in her pocket out into the open. Mel put her hands on his chin and forcefully pushed him away – a comical gesture given the vast difference in size – and he tilted his head aside until it connected with the floor. The rest of him followed into an untidy heap, and from there he started groaning and whining, and no one paid him any attention.

Aqua curled up on the couch with Terra, reading a book as he sketched aimlessly in his pad. She eventually got bored and set the book aside, and they started talking in low voices. Tarquin looked their way curiously, and away again, blushing furiously when Terra leant down and kissed her lips. Aqua smiled and reached up to stroke his cheek. When they parted, she saw Ven staring fixedly ahead, before he sighed heavily and looked at the floor, exasperated. Mel was waving her hand around, the light reflecting off one of her rings and Koba's eyes following the little speck of moving light, completely transfixed; she stopped and looked inquiringly at Ven, and then her gaze slid to the couch. Aqua raised her eyebrows at Mel as Terra nuzzled her neck affectionately and kissed her collarbone. Mel looked at Ven again, an eyebrow raised, and he gave her a smile reluctantly torn somewhere between annoyance and amusement. She twisted the corner of her mouth in an attempt to hide her smile, and look away, seemingly remembering Koba's presence and started the game again for her, to the chick's great delight.

Through this entire, silent exchange, the boy watched uncomprehendingly as thoughts and emotions were conveyed between the four of them purely through facial expressions. It perplexed him endlessly how subtle their communications were, how much was written in the subtext of their interactions, and that the men appeared to accept so demurely the edicts of a woman.

Tarquin looked from Ven fleetingly to Mel, and then up at Leo, who stretched his long neck and flexed his jaw muscles with a joint cracking yawn before he shook himself down and curled up – like nothing so much as the World's largest house cat – and fell into a light doze. Then, he looked down again at the stone in his lap, and carefully lifted it closer to his face for inspection. Grey and oily: just as it had always looked to him. He ran his fingers over the surface of the shell wonderingly, and carefully tapped a nail against it, listening to the sound and feeling it durability.

Mel saw all of this, as did Aqua, and neither of them said anything. Instead, the older woman curled up against Terra's side and rested her head on his shoulder, smiling when he enveloped her completely in his arms. Mel stroked Koba from shout to tail before pulling the little dragon onto her lap. Koba chirruped and cooed to her, tail flailing uncontrollably in her happiness. Leo cracked an eye open to look at her, and Ven leaned back on his hands, smiling at the dragons and their Keeper. Mel caught his eye and looked away with her own gentle smile. Again, Tarquin watched the wordless conversation with wide eyes, wondering what on earth was flowing beneath the surface of the exchange.

In truth, the four adults were merely sharing in their reuniting and the peace of the evening, enjoying each other's company and energies. Ven, Aqua and Terra had known each other so long that they knew instinctively how to read each other's expressions and body language; being exceptionally perceptive, Mel could likewise read into their complexities despite having known them for a much shorter space of time. And in turn they could read her, as she felt comfortable enough to keep her guard down, and allow them into her space.

Leo snuffled his way over to Mel and placed his head on the floor beside her. Ven grinned and leant over to rub his ear, and the dragon closed his eyes, humming loudly. Koba squeaked and crawled over to him, climbing clumsily onto his snout and tying to scrabble her way onto the crown of his head. Ven and Mel exchanged looks over Leo's horns, both smiling – they were relieved that Koba was all right, and both remembering how tiny Leo had been, and how enormous he was now…

They both then turned to look at the couch, to see Terra and Aqua watching the dragons too, with similar expressions of relief and reminiscence. Nothing needed to be said; it was all written in their faces as clear as day for each other to read.

All of this was completely lost on Tarquin, who simply watched the vague changes in the adults' smiles with incomprehension.

XOXOX

"And so," Horace was saying, more loudly this time in a vain attempt to get the younger students to listen to him. It was late; they had been in two other long lectures that day, in between the biannual fitness and endurance tests that involved running around the Guild grounds, always heedless of the weather. Horace looked as ready to give up as the children did, but he persevered – to their collective dismay.

Lars blew his cheeks out and flopped dramatically back against the large wicker chair by the window. Rosie exchanged looks with Jack, who was rolling his eyes for the umpteenth time that evening, and she glanced down at her notes, trying to hide her reflexive smile.

"-The Bardic concept that, in this language, is referred to as 'The Balance'…" Horace went on, and a few of the students sitting before him sighed. Rosie was quite certain at least one boy had actually fallen asleep on his friend's shoulder, and she looked about ready to drop as well.

"Ishtar giveth me _strength_ …" Lars groaned under his breath.

"Hey," Jack snapped, wheeling his chair around and rapidly advancing on Lars. "Some of us are actually trying to _work_ here. Piss off if you're just gonna complain,"

"Jack," Rosie tried to wave him back to her, gesturing at her notes.

"You're such a drag," he grumbled to Lars, who glowered back at him.

Rosie forced herself not to sigh out loud. She didn't know what on earth was going on, only that the pair of them had been sniping at each other all day, and it was getting wearisome. She had spent the last few days at home with her eldest and youngest brothers fighting, and her other two brothers who were both sick with Lyme had been at each other's throats as well. Eric was trying to be upbeat and positive despite the rough ride the new antibiotics were giving him, and Davy was determined to be utterly miserable at the moment, and found the sometimes forced optimism too much to cope with. She had also met with her new peer mentees that week; despite the problems thrown up by elder of the two, who was also sick with Lyme and having problems controlling her anger, and the other who was in between treatments for her autoimmune disorder and struggling at the moment, Rosie felt she had actually made a positive difference there, and she was looking forward to working with both girls more closely in the coming months. As far as studying went, they both knew what they wanted and what they had to do – being able to manage their timetables, deadlines, and navigating other social activities when they felt so under the weather was what Rosie was there for.

All in all, it had been a productive but stressful week – the last thing she wanted was another fight breaking out, and Jack and Lars seemed determined to be angry at each other at the moment.

To stymie the argument, Rosie asked Jack to show her the notes she had missed from a particular lecture while she had been fulfilling her duties as peer mentor, and he grudgingly complied. After a few minutes he was more relaxed and speaking freely, explaining carefully the underpinning principles of Higher Magery with regard to alchemy. It wasn't essential to her studies, but Rosie was curious on the subject. She smiled to herself as Jack spoke; she could see him whizzing around a lecture hall one day, leading talks and heading debate panels. She thought of Mel, and wondered if she would cry Wolf Medicine if asked what his particular forte was. Jack would make a fine teacher once the thirst for adventure was out of his system – he was going skydiving next week with a few of their friends for a charity drive, and then he was fixing for a gap year style excursion for a few months in his home World, once he had made up his mind about the itinerary.

Horace finally concluded his lesson some time before they were ready to wrap up in their little corner, and their Mentor busied himself with tidying up while Jack and Rosie continued to work, and Lars stared glumly at the overcast sky through the window, growing ever darker as the light began to fade.

"We good?" Jack asked, rapping his knuckles against the spokes of his wheelchair absently as Rosie stacked her papers together on her lap.

"Yes, brilliant! Thank you, Jack. That's wonderful,"

Jack gave her a cheeky grin. "Sure I can't tempt you into the plane with us? You don't have to jump out the door,"

"I don't entirely trust Kimberly." She smiled sadly at him. Kimberly had been on and on and _on_ at her about using her new found good health to best advantage – and Rosie would use it to make their packed lunches for the day, _not_ jump out of a plane, no matter who or what was strapped to her back.

Jack pulled a face. "Yeeaaahhh… Sorry about that, Rose." He scratched his jaw and winced sympathetically. "You just do your thing next Wednesday, and don't forget my BLT. _Or_ the mayo!" he jabbed a finger menacingly at her, any aggression belied by his grin.

"When has Rose ever forgotten the mayonnaise?" Lars asked, an arm drawn over his eyes. He jumped up with a yelp when Jack wheeled past him and kicked his leg.

"Now _really_ , boys! The pair of you," Horace said loudly, clapping his hands together, hair frizzier than usual. "You are expected to set an example to the other students!"

Jack looked around theatrically as he made a dash for the door. "What other students?" he called, wheeling into the corridor and disappearing from sight.

Lars stared hard at the rucksack, still slung on the floor by Rosie's feet. He made to get up and lunge for it, but sat back in his chair when she leaned forward to put her hand in the way.

"No, _please_ Lars. I can't take much more."

He gave her a level look, and asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

Rosie was about to speak, when Jack rolled back into the room and headed for her. She kept her expression neutral, as he swept round in a wide circle and scooped up his rucksack in one swift movement. Lars gave him a hard look, and Jack swung the bag nonchalantly over the back rail of his chair. He looked at Rose, and said in an undertone, "I meant to do that…"

"Good riddance," Lars snapped at the empty doorway after he had disappeared again. He caught Horace looking at him sidelong, and then he saw Rosie's expression, and his own softened. "Is something wrong?" he asked again.

Rosie sighed and leaned her elbows on her knees, perched on the very edge of the window seat and ran her fingers through her unbound hair. "Oh, it's just been one of those weeks…Davy's driving Eric up the wall, he's been complaining to _me_ about it… Danny is being insufferable and constantly at loggerheads with Alan, my new mentee is in a state right now in terms of symptoms and her emotions, and I worry about being able to care for her needs, and the other girl… And then I come in here for some peace and quiet, and you two are at each other's throats as well." She looked up at Lars, who was looking meditatively at his boots. "Has something happened that I'm not aware of?"

Lars turned his face to the heavens and sighed. When he looked at her, it was with a tired smile. "No, we just had a bit of a disagreement, that's all." He sighed again, and rubbed his temple. "The Knight's training is more intense than I thought it would be, and Jack is a bit stressed about his mother at the moment. You…did hear about her?"

Rosie bit her lip. Jack's mother had had several brushes with cancer so far, though the last she had heard everything had been clear. "It's come back…?"

Lars gave her a slightly pained look. "They don't know yet, the further round of tests haven't come back yet, but the initial results looked a little dubious. I know I should be going easy on him, but…" he threw his hands in the air and sighed heavily. "Ahh – as you said," he gestured with his left hand. "Just…one of those weeks. I feel like I could punch the wall in…"

"You know, if there's anything I can do…?" she said, but he waved her offer away with a tired smile.

"You have enough people to look after right now. Don't worry about me, I would not want you to burn yourself out on my account."

Rosie looked down at her notes by her feet, touched by his words, and they both busied themselves with gathering their belongings together without speaking. She had also this week been searching diligently through the library for those scrolls she had read – so long ago now – about the Keyblade's Dragon Keeper. Ever since it had come to her attention, she had been seeking that information for Aqua and the others. And so far, she had failed miserably… It felt like something was on the tip of her tongue, just at the edge of her memory, and it was driving her mad that she couldn't quite recall the whole poem, or remember which section it was likely to be in.

Shaking her head, Rosie leant forward again and hid momentarily behind a curtain of hair, rubbing her temples. When Lars poked her, she said despairingly, "How can we have one of the biggest libraries in the entire multiverse, and still I cannot find what I'm looking for?"

Lars gave her a surprised look. "Are you still looking for that poetry scroll? There are plenty of others to read." He gave her a smile, which she returned wryly. "We have the biggest collection of Annaren literature outside Edil-Amarandh here. Do you really need _that_ particular scroll? I _know_ for a fact that we have the entire collective works of Lorica of Turbansk in the East Wing. Translated – in full - into five separate classical languages, including Latin."

Rosie looked at her hands. She hadn't told Lars what she was specifically looking for, and he had assumed whatever it was, it was for a personal literary project. He of course knew about Leo – most Mages who swung by to see Merlin did by now – but he didn't know the connection, and Rosie wanted it to stay that way, despite her infinite dislike of keeping secrets from her friends. Leo's safety in this matter was her top priority, even more so than finding the damned poem.

"Ahh, now if it's _Annaren_ poetry you're after-" Horace said with a smile, and he went off to one of his shelves while Rosie and Lars exchanged looks of abject horror. She had to stifle the laughter that bubbled in her throat when he looked away with a resigned expression, and then turned back to her with a sly smile. Rosie pulled a face and mouthed at him to stop, which made Lars sit up straighter and make a great pantomime of silently asking the empty room at large why he was being blamed unfairly for everything. By the time Horace came back to them he was sitting and smiling innocently at his Mentor, while Rose had dissolved into a giggling mess.

"My dear, do sit up, it's bad for the respiratory system. Now then!"

"Is that _Pel's Canticles_?" Lars asked, taking the beautiful, leather bound book and leafing through the exquisitely illustrated pages, the words all written and painted by hand.

"Ah, no my boy." Horace pulled up a stool and sat down with them, smiling at the book in Lars' hands. "It's a collection of poems, from the kingdom of Ileadh. My birth home," he smiled fondly at something the two young Mages couldn't see. Then, he turned to Rosie with an amused smile. "Chasing day dreams are we, Rosaline?"

She smiled vaguely in return, thinking of Evie back in Radiant Garden. She was another item on the list of things to worry about, but Rhia was looking after her, so Rose didn't have to worry too much… "Head in the clouds," she murmured, smiling more brightly and thinking next of Kenny, wherever he happened to be right now. "Feet on the ground."

"Exactly right, my dear." Horace nodded.

"Ahh, I do love this one. I recognise the illustrations," Lars laughed. "But I can't read this dialect. Poetry is always so much more poignant when spoken in its original tongue…"

"You should hear it spoken in the Speech," Horace said with a laugh. "Oh, I have long neglected my home! I simply _must_ go back to Ileadh at some point. If only I had the time…"

"Maybe you could find some poetry in Annar, Rose," Lars handed the book to her. "There's a really good one by a Bard from Baladh, whose name annoyingly escapes my mind at present…about the star constellation – the Great Dragon, or whatever the Annaren is for it." He pulled a face. Lars was quite the linguist, but the languages of Edil-Amarandh were not his particular forte.

"Ahh, it's in the tongue of the Suderain." Horace explained as Rosie leafed through the pages and stopped on one that showed a beautiful tree sprouting from the flute played by a young woman in the bottom right hand corner. On the other page she recognised the general structure for the _Song of Making_ in the way the verses were composed, though she too could not read this dialect very well. "See, in northern Annar that constellation goes by a different name-" Horace went on, and Lars nodded attentively, only really half listening if the glazed look in his eyes was anything to go by.

Rosie traced the Tree of Light with her fingertip. In Edil-Amarandh, the New Year was celebrated on the day of the summer solstice; she hadn't seen the summer rites performed herself, but a Bard had shown her an image with magery, and explained the inner workings of the charms and spells needed to perform the rite. It sounded like the most beautiful thing she could ever see, the way it had been described to her. A mirror was ceremonially thrown against the ground and shattered, before it was remade again as though it had never been broken, before the Tree of Life was made with magery within the mirror, which then sprouted in the air before the Bard performing the rite. No two Bards saw or made the Tree the same way, and the one she had seen in memories was truly beautiful. Lost in her musings, Rosie missed what Horace said, and looked up in surprise when Lars pressed her for an answer.

"Sorry, I was miles away. What did you say?"

Lars looked at her with amusement, and she tried to look moderately innocent. "I said, did you find what you were looking for?"

Rosie sighed. "No."

"That's all right," Horace said bracingly, taking the book from her to put back on the shelves. "We all have to fumble around in the dark from time to time. You'll find what you're looking for eventually, I'm sure." He smiled and stepped back from his neat and tidy shelf. "There now! That's better. Of course, bumbling around in the dark is a talent of my old friend Cadvan's."

Lars shot Rosie a meaningful look, and they silently picked up their bags in readiness to beat a hasty retreat. Horace was incredibly knowledgeable, but he could go on sometimes…

"You know, he and Maerad are compiling that book of theirs. About time too. Only took a century or so for them to get round to it…"

Rosie stood up, ready to follow Lars, when the strap on her satchel suddenly broke, and her bag hit the floor with a heavy _thunk_. She groaned and buried her face in her hands. She did not need this right now… she gratefully leant into Lars' embrace when he gave her a reassuring, one-armed hug.

Horace bent down and ran his fingers over the broken strap, and when Rosie had gathered herself, she was presented with a mended satchel. "Oh, thank you Horace,"

"My dear, you carry too many books around." Horace said simply, testing the weight of the satchel in his hand, charmed with a spell of holding to expand its capacity. "It's very bad for the spine." Lars rolled his eyes – he had been saying that for months now, and to many people. Horace looked into her face searchingly, and Rosie reflexively blushed. "Are you quite all right, Rosaline? I do hope you're not over doing it. I don't want to see you quite so unwell again, if we can help it."

Rosie started. That was the first time he had intimated any concern about her health since she had finished her last antibiotic treatment. It still came as a bit of a shock to hear so many people, some of whom she did not know all that well, commenting on how glad they were to see her looking so well.

"I'll make sure she doesn't," Lars said, giving her arm a squeeze. "Come on, Rose. It's pizza night, all the pepperoni will be gone if we don't get to the canteen soon,"

Horace shrugged and let her go without speaking further on the subject. Before they left however, he managed to get in, "Oh, Lars. I was hoping to have a word with you at some point about that essay of yours. I quite enjoyed the inclusion of Lirhanese poetry,"

Fifteen minutes later they were sat in a corner of the dining hall, munching on pizza with a bowl of garlic bread between them. Lars groaned appreciatively, carefully wiping the excess cheese from his lips. "When I'm here, or at the Academy, I miss home. When I'm at home, I miss-"

"Pizza Night," Rosie said with a grin, toasting him with her cup of lemonade. She laughed, and added, "It's almost like Saturday night at Uni. We used to either doctor our own pizzas or cook up potato wedges and cod in our tatty old oven, and then go out and have ice cream for dessert, because we were all such cheap skates." She smiled brightly at those happy memories, which even the bone deep fatigue she had felt at the time couldn't taint. She had a brief image of Evie and Kenny dancing around their tiny kitchen to _Scissor Sisters_ in her minds eye, and laughed again.

"I wish the Knights Academy wasn't so strict about diet…I'm going mad over there without my pepperoni." Lars said, biting into a slice with relish.

They talked while they ate, and Lars gestured vaguely over his essay, somewhat indifferent to the subject, though it had quickened Rosie's interest. They finished eating and went to get some tea, and sat for a while longer; the younger students had all left by then, and a few older students remained like they did, enjoying the evening quiet. Lars showed her the book he had used as a reference – it was as a standard printed job as you could expect to find of most textbooks at home, but it was the Standard English translation of an Annaren work. Edil-Amarandh wasn't exactly a World that actively shunned outside contact, as some Worlds did, but it was still rather reclusive; very few Mages, like Horace, ever left it's boarders, and even fewer remained outside in the wider World like he did. They were curious about the inner workings of the outside World, but they were content with their lot, and so stayed in their home World.

Rosie thought of the Annaren Bards she had met, a few in particular standing out in her mind. Lars was right, she thought as she skimmed through the booklet – the poems didn't speak to her in English or Latin as they did in Standard Annaren.

"Maerad read this one to me the last time I visited Lirhan. She knew the poet who wrote it," she stroked the page in question absently, her mind abstracted for a moment as she tried to remember what the Bard had said about it.

Lars chuckled. "Now there's a Mage who could answer your question. Remember what Horace said? She travelled across the entire continent looking for a particular poem too, only to find she had it on her the whole time!"

Rosie winced with sympathy. She had heard bits and pieces of Maerad's journey, and remembered the deep sadness in her expression as she recounted that particular stage of her travels. Rosie didn't like to pry too deeply, so she didn't know all the details, but she knew enough to know the lady had suffered a great deal for her calling. She knew that Kenny and Evie knew more about it (their Master Sol had known Maerad for years, and had often taken his students to Annar when they were younger) but they had never ventured any additional information, and Rosie had never asked them.

"Maybe she would know what you were looking for. I find those Mages from Annar have the uncanny knack for finding things that other's have lost."

Rosie looked straight through Lars as he spoke, her mind suddenly elsewhere. He had known her too many years, and seen her through too many brain fog episodes, to be at all phased by her sudden inattention, although he looked a little disappointed when she came to and started gathering her things.

"I'm sorry, Lars, but you've just given me an idea. I need to go to the library-"

"Glad to be of assistance to you." He said, smiling tiredly. "If there's anything else you need…?"

Rosie gave him a speculative look as she stood up and pushed her chair under the table neatly. "Go easy on Jack." She said gently, and pressed his hand before she hurried off for the library.

The Keyblade had never been mentioned in the same conversation as Edil-Amarandh, and she had never heard a Bard say anything that sounded remotely like the term 'Keyblade'. Of course, that didn't mean they were not aware of such a thing; the few Bards Master Sol had been close to had known, but it was not, as far as she was aware, common knowledge among Bards.

Rosie liked the language because it was so different to the ones she knew from home, and she enjoyed the many lyrical plays on words the tongue allowed. For example, _Dhillarearën_ was their word for a Mage, someone with special abilities known loosely as 'the gift', which were in fact quite different to those of most mages from other Worlds. In English the word literally meant 'star people', but the word ' _dhillë_ ' also meant 'to sing' in Standard Annaren – which was why Mages from that World were referred to by outsiders as 'Bards', which made a distinction between them and regular Mages. This reference was also helped by the fact that music was such an important part of their culture. But as Rosie ran her mind through all the Annaren vocabulary she knew, and all the memories she had of her own visits to Edil-Amarandh, she couldn't find anything specifically relating to the Keyblade.

Of course, Master Sol had visited that World a lot, and taken his students with him, which was part of why Rosie had more knowledge of Edil-Amarandh than most Guild Mages did; Evie and Kenny had insisted on her accompanying them, and then Horace had taken her a couple of times, though only briefly. Still, as far as Rose was aware, most Bards thought the four of them were simply Mages from a distant Kingdom; the Keyblade had never been mentioned when she had been visiting with them.

Rosie just wanted to check something in particular, before she formulated a plan that she could give to Aqua. It was her call, at the end of the day, but Rosie thought she might have finally found something that could truly help them.

XOXOX


	6. Then There Were Three

**AN: So…like a year or more later, I finally uploaded a chapter xD**

 **It's usually been my ill health that kept me from writing, but in the last year my health took such a turn for the better that I managed to get back into full time education. Course work and exams ensued. And my computer had to go to maintenance more than once because of ongoing malfunctions, and that really set me back in my work load for a while. And I kept telling myself come summer I'd get this chapter, which has been written in near its entirety for the better part of 6 months, posted and the next one under way. I kind of crashed in a tacky heap and hibernated for two months instead because I was absolutely exhausted. As much as I wish it weren't the case, I still have big problems with chronic fatigue, and I have to prioritise my health and studies over nearly everything else.**

 **I am so sorry for the long delay, I can't promise the next chapter will come quickly, but I know most of the academic teething problems have been worked through at this point, so I should be able to find and set aside some time to write more consistently (Fingers crossed…)**

 **Without further ado, enjoy the chapter! If you have a moment to leave a review that would be great, I'm aware I'm quite rusty at the moment and constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated** **:)**

 _ **Then There Were Three**_

It was very easy to forget that Leo was a powerful, dangerous, predatory animal. He was always so loving and affectionate, and so very gentle when he was knocking them off their feet – his six large canines and sharp talons all but forgotten. Terra walked away from the ceremonial mammoth hunt with fresh appreciation for Leo's power, and restraint.

After a very long ritual in which all the hunters were blessed, and marked with ochre paints in lines and symbols according to their social rank (Leo took forever to paint, the village shaman insisting that they cover every purple marking on his feathers with red, and line much of the black with bright yellow chevrons) the group set out to follow the mammoth herd, which was mercifully nearby and only took a few days to travel to, rather than the weeks it could have been.

It was a primitive hunting method, but serviceable enough; a corral constructed from heavy wooden fencing and thick raw hide covers set up in a natural fissure in the rocky ground near the edge of the steppe grasslands. Leo ran back and forth like a sheep dog, herding the mammoths towards the corral, running at full tilt, which he usually didn't get to do, and Terra marvelled anew as he watched from a distance, rather than from the dragon's back. Leo brought down three mammoths by himself, and the kills were considered his alone though Mel did the bartering with the villagers on his behalf.

That was another palaver that nearly had Terra rolling on the floor with laughter, and he had to walk away from the trading circle to sit on a rock in the distance and stay there, facing the other way until it was all over. The shaman quite rightly believed that Leo could understand Mel, and she him – the man just didn't quite realise that Leo also understood everything that was being said around him, provided it was spoken slowly enough for him to absorb the unfamiliar accent. This meant that when Leo hung his head over her shoulder, rumbling and grating in his throat and chest (signals of affection and wanting attention) the people thought he was communicating with her in the Tongue of the Dragons. Leo caught this sentiment, and he hammed it up for them, pretending to be pleased or displeased with a particular offer made, and Mel very carefully kept her alarm and exasperation under control through out the proceedings, though Terra had a feeling she was going to poke both him and Leo very hard in the ribs the moment she had a chance without a village full of witnesses looking on. She couldn't stop Leo's pantomime without confusing the villagers, or perhaps risk their anger if they felt they were being mocked in return for their veneration and respectfulness, so she had to bear the indignity out as best she could.

When they finally left with all their traded goods, and a plentiful supply of meat both fresh and dried, Mel gave Terra a somewhat hard look before she turned to adjust the saddle needlessly, and ignored him pointedly for the rest of the day. Leo grinned wolfishly, pacing back and forth, practically dancing on his toes with glee at her expense, and Terra finally couldn't keep himself from laughing. Mel threw her hands into the air and stalked off across the steppes, looking very much like her brother as she went. Leo bent down and licked Terra from knee to chin, growling playfully and knocking him onto his back before pressing his snout against the man's stomach and grating loudly, as amused as Terra.

Finally, he managed to coax Mel back to their campfire with the promise of some tea and his contrite silence. She gave him a guarded look before she accepted the steaming mug.

"If you ever speak of this again-" she began, and then turned abruptly aside and walked off, sipping her tea a little grudgingly. Leo sniggered, baring his teeth in a wide grin, and got poked in the stomach, to great ineffect. Mel was, generally speaking, not very good at making threats. Someone as tiny as her making a threat against someone as enormous as Leo was just beyond laughable. Although, Terra privately thought it was more that the majority of the time, her heart wasn't in it to make a real threat.

They stayed out on the grasslands long enough to have a quick, hot meal, forgoing the offer of staying with the village for fear of being held up there for further days on end amid their various rituals and ceremonies. They had some thin slices of mammoth meat, which they cooked like bacon in a pan that was slung from the saddle, along with some eggs from a bird's nest Mel raided after she had brought down a couple of adult ptarmigan with her bow. She carefully gathered up all the feathers in a sack, and then she gutted the birds carefully and wrapped the meat up in an envelope of rawhide, ignoring Terra and Leo as she went.

In the end, Leo caved first, and wandered after her, keening forlornly and begging for forgiveness (and more food, in all likelihood). Lastly, Terra made a peace offering of an extra egg, meat and some wild onions he found and peeled for her. Mel gave him a long and unreadable look before she took the plate from him and quickly ate the food, refusing to look him in the eye, and he knew he had been forgiven.

"I keep forgetting Leo's a dragon," Terra mused to her when they were speaking again, patting his thick left foreleg and looking up into said dragon's feathered face. "I mean," he went on, reaching up to scratch his jaw when Leo bent his head down to snuffle at his hands. "I know he _is_ a dragon, but…sometimes I forget how he must seem to other people."

Mel looked up at him, nuzzling Terra's neck happily, his tail slamming into the ground so hard it disturbed the rabbit warren beneath their feet. A few rabbits made a mad dash out of the burrow nearby, and ran off swiftly across the grassland.

"I know what you mean." She said, stroking his lowered wing, and Leo swung his head around and bent lower still to nuzzle her as well. "I forget sometimes, too. He's like my son, but he's still a predator."

Leo blew through his nose at her and licked her cheek, carefully keeping his teeth concealed behind his lips. Then he stood up straight and whined like a puppy, wagging his tail and laying his ears back in submission. It wasn't an act Terra was buying, but at least he _tried_ to look unthreatening, which he supposed was the main thing. After all, it was a little difficult to look harmless when you were all muscle, teeth and claws covered in feathers.

They carefully checked that everything had been gathered up and was tightly fixed to the saddle before they climbed onto his back and settled into their accustomed places. Leo rolled his shoulders and wings once his armour was in place, and turned to face into the wind. He sat back on his haunches and spread his wings wide before he took off with a spring of his hind legs.

The journey home was uneventful; the interim of the Lanes Between slid by with little consequence or notice. Mel was quiet, probably thinking about all the things she needed to do when they unpacked, and Terra thought about Tarquin, and how Ven was getting on with him.

As it turned out, Ven had made a lot of headway while they were gone. Tarquin seemed more relaxed, although he still eyed Mel and Aqua circumspectly when they were in the same room (and he thought no one was looking at him). He also felt more comfortable talking to Ven, and then slowly Terra as well as the evening progressed.

It was with a pang of nostalgia that the men congregated after supper on the floor before the hearth in the common room, with the busted old dominos set that they had played with when they were younger, when Ven had finally come out of his comatose shell.

Terra almost expected to look up and see Master Eraqus in his usual armchair. Every time he did glance in that direction, he felt a painful little clutch at his heart at the empty seat across the room. Once he caught Ven's eye as he did the exact same thing, and they shared a long, complicated look that perplexed Tarquin, and they both worked swiftly to cover up the moment of emotion. Then and there was not the best time to mourn the past. Instead, they played a few lively games – or at least Ven tried to, while Terra set up the pieces in intricate lines so he could collapse them all in seconds with a flick of his finger.

Mel watched curiously from the opposite end of the sofa to Aqua, who was doodling instead of writing notes on Koba. The little dragon was snuggled up against Leo's nose, who in turn was curled up in his usual corner, humming with contentment.

"I've never understood the fascination with domino lines." Mel said eventually to Aqua after Terra lost the argument, and Ven and Tarquin gathered up all the pieces so they could play a _real_ game of dominos.

Aqua gave her an ironic look over her knees on which the notebook rested. "Join the club."

"There's something hypnotic about the way they all fall in sync." Terra said, picking up a stray piece and examining it closely. Then, with a grin he put it into position and eyed Ven before he flicked it at him. "Besides. Ex order, _chaos_."

He beamed at the women on the sofa; Aqua had arched an eyebrow, and Mel watched passively before she said softly, with a certain measure of latent sarcasm you could only really hear if you knew her well enough, "Ha." which made Aqua snort with laughter.

Terra turned away from them to find Tarquin bowing his head and refusing to look in their direction. Terra exchanged another quick glance with Ven, who smiled patiently and spoke to the boy gently, handing him the domino piece Terra had thrown at him, and they began to play more seriously.

In the days following their return, Mel was kept busy cooking and preserving the meat they had brought back, as well as processing the raw leathers, and stacking them and everything else up in a corner of the common room in a very neat pile, which the chick decided was the absolute _best_ place to make herself a nest. Aqua took the opportunity to consolidate all of their notes on the Keyblade Dragons, half-heartedly checking the infamous book that had been discovered after Leo hatched, to little avail. Evie swung by to help with this, and also to help with Tarquin since she understood the cultural context he had come from. This involved them both sitting on the ground outside on the grass about six feet apart, both cross-legged and not meeting each other's eyes. The conversation was stiff and didn't appear to flow easily at first glance, although after she left the boy looked a lot more cheerful and at ease, even going as far as openly smiling at Mel though he still wouldn't meet her gaze.

Terra asked Evie what she had said to him to elicit such a change, to which the Master fixed him with a look that had often been seen on Lynn's face, the corner of her mouth twisting itself with irony as she raised an eyebrow and slowly lifted her hands up in an exaggerated shrug. He was struck by her gaze, as he had been by Lynn's, but instead of being unnerved by the flat, lamp like yellow of one iris and the blood red of the other, he was disconcerted by the somewhat unfamiliar bright, vivid and cheerful red of them both.

"Like most things in life, I just blag my way through," was all she would say on the matter, and Terra was happy to leave it at that.

XOXOX

In the interests of collective training, and helping Tarquin settle into the rhythm of what – for the foreseeable future – would be his life, Aqua arranged for all the Keyblade Wielders to congregate in the Great Hall of the castle for a general meeting. It wasn't as explicitly labelled as such; there wasn't really an adequate term to describe the organised and contained chaos that ensued when they all came together for the afternoon.

Ven watched Tarquin carefully as they joined in a game of catch with Sora, Riku, Kairi and Leah (who had been with them when the summons arrived, and had been dragged along by Sora's exuberance.) It was a simple game, involving throwing a ball of light that changed colour subtly depending on who was holding it, courtesy of a nifty little spell cast by Evie over Riku's ball of energy. They stood in a loose circle, Ven making sure Tarquin wasn't standing right next to either of the girls, and tossed the ball back and forth while they talked idly. Koba was finding her feet more easily now, and followed the pretty ball's progress with wide-eyed wonder before she tried to chase after it. This led to them moving to a back corner of the hall where they were more out of the way and sitting on the floor, rolling the ball back and forth so Koba could chase it more easily. After having spent the last half hour hanging over his rider's shoulder, Leo paced over to them and flopped to the floor with a dull crash that reverberated through the tiles, making Tarquin and Leah jump. He created an extra wall in the circle, and lazily flicked a paw, wing or tail whenever the ball came his way. The older dragon watched with keen interest at his young charge's antics, trying to compare what he saw with what he had been told about himself, and the dimmer memories he had of that time in his own life.

Meanwhile, Evie was deep in conversation with Aqua about dragon notes, some fresh sightings of their unnamed monsters in Radiant Garden, and of some spurious hypothesis of Rosie's, which she had not entrusted to Evie. All the Master had to show for it was a hastily scribbled note (strange, since Rose had very neat handwriting in the usual course of things) which simply said she had an idea, she just needed to check on something first, and then she would talk to Aqua about it directly, after she dealt with a couple of emergencies. One was at home, involving some family politics that Evie didn't share and Aqua didn't pry into; the other was a rather nasty stomach bug doing the rounds within the Guilds that was leaving them very understaffed, and resorting to calling on anyone with even a basic level of understanding in a given subject to cover lessons for a couple of weeks. Here, Evie's lips quirked with suppressed laughter; it would appear Rose had gone on a bit of a rant last they had seen each other, about how she didn't know the first thing about arithmancy, and that those particular equations and tests of statistical significance were _not_ the same thing.

Meanwhile, Rhiannon filled Terra in more on the new sightings, and they stood in a huddle with Lea at the edge of the proceedings, all with dark expressions on their faces at all these mounting questions with still no answers. Mel sat near by, carefully going over her saddle with oil to keep it water resistant, keeping half an eye on their conversation, the other half on Leo across the hall, and the other eye on the egg by her side. She worked methodically, undoing each buckle and strap in turn to work the oil into the leather. Occasionally Leo would lift his head and look in her direction, and she always returned his gaze. Once or twice he crooned, long low and deep in his chest so she felt it through the floor more than she heard it from that distance. The group arranged around him looked up briefly (Tarquin and Leah both jumping again, neither of them being quite so used to him as the others).

When this happened, Ven looked first at Leo, and then shot Mel a glance across the hall, his lips twisting to keep himself from grinning, his eyes bright with amusement. She returned his humour with a smile of her own, and when he turned aside to catch Koba before she could trip over her own tail, Mel likewise turned aside, only to hear Rhiannon's rather dour opinion on their options for defence. Sighing, Mel set the rag aside and lifted the saddle up so she could flip it over and start work on the straps on the other side.

"Well _that_ was a whole lot of useless." Terra grumbled that evening, throwing himself into a chair in the library.

Everyone had gone home by then, and sent back messages to let them know they had arrived safely, and Rhiannon had sent another memo asking them to refrain from visiting Radiant Garden until she could get rid of Jondalar, another Keyblade wielder from further afield who had trained under a different Master and who sadly had the habit of getting up everyone's nose (especially Terra's), who had dropped by unexpectedly in the neighbourhood.

"Complaining about it won't make things any easier." Ven grouched back at Terra.

They stared each other down, glowering darkly, and Mel and Aqua – who had been standing in the doorway – turned to look at each other.

"Music room?" Mel asked quickly with an inquiring tilt of her head.

"Yes! Yes," Aqua cleared her throat and tried to look grave as she beat a hasty retreat from the approaching argument. "Let's go make some music."

They scuttled off, Leo trailing behind them sleepily as he dogged Koba's every movement, leaving the boys to their own devices for the night.

XOXOX

When the all clear for them to return to Radiant Garden came through, Tarquin seemed a lot more at ease around everyone, including the women. Mel took great care to make him feel comfortable, and she gently encouraged any questions he had about Keyblade Dragons, or the Keyblade in general. It was clear he felt a lot more confident, and still very much confused about the social structures around him, because he voiced those questions to Terra and Ven more boldly than before – and a lot more politely than his cousin, who was reportedly being well cared for, and posing a tricky case for the Guild to handle.

Once they were in Radiant Garden, they went about the tasks the Committee needed doing that day, checked in with Evie's write up, and went to the market to get vegetables and some extra meat to supplement Mel's last hunting haul. Aqua also indulged in a hog roast stand, glancing wordlessly at Mel for assent before she took the bacon butty in hand and tossed it high for Leo to catch. He had been watching her with such intent ever since she had walked up to the stallholder, finally tearing his eyes away from Koba and Tarquin's bag. The great lump had then proceeded to crawl after her on his belly, tail wagging like an excited puppy, and she propelled the sandwich high with magic so he had to rear up and jump for his snack. He snatched it out of the air, landing heavily with an earth-shattering crash that had many heads swinging round fearfully until they saw it was just the local dragon being himself, and they all proceeded with their business as usual.

After they picnicked for lunch, Mel took Leo and Koba for a walk to find Leon, while the rest hung round, chatting idly (or in Terra and Aqua's case, bickering). Ven managed to go over the basic principles of white magic again with Tarquin, trying to ignore the other two and slowly failing the more insistent Terra's prodding's became.

After getting into a silly argument in which neither party would back down, Aqua finally folded her arms and looked up at Terra squarely. "You need a hair cut." She said simply before unfolding her arms and turning aside to leave, wanting to expend her time and energy elsewhere that day.

As she walked away, Terra wrung his hands at her, saying loudly in lieu of anything better to throw at her, "Do _not_!"

Tarquin watched the exchange curiously as the man shook his fists at the retreating Master's back, and then as he slumped down onto a crate with a huff. Ven sniggered, and Terra looked up so he could scowl darkly at him before he averted his eyes again in defeat.

Carefully, Tarquin edged over to Terra and stood leaning against the wall while the man did likewise, perched on the wooden crate, staring at the sky reflectively.

"Umm…" Tarquin bit his lip, and Terra turned to him, silently inviting his question. "If she annoys you so much, why do you just stand there and let her talk to you like that?" he asked without guile.

Terra looked at him blankly. "I don't understand,"

"You don't like the way she was talking to you, so why are you putting up with it? Just, make her stop, or just leave if she doesn't listen. Why do you just take her abuse?"

Terra raised a somewhat disbelieving eyebrow, and Tarquin flushed. Ven folded his arms and cocked his head to one side heavily, thinly hiding a smile that couldn't quite keep the creases from forming around his eyes.

"Because friends bicker with each other sometimes." Ven explained gently. "We all get under each other's skin. It's not that Aqua's fighting with us, or really trying to abuse us, trust me. We're just having a bit of fun with each other."

Tarquin looked _really_ confused now. "But- but she's telling him what to do, and he's obviously not going to do it, but she-!" he gulped, and folded inward on himself, realising that he was sounding foolish, and the two men were regarding him with tolerant amusement – much to his chagrin.

Terra chuckled good-naturedly, and leant over to ruffle Tarquin's hair. He bowed his head so he didn't have to meet anyone's eye, and then put his hands on the canvas bag at his hip for something to do while he squirmed under their gaze.

"Didn't you used to play fight with your brothers and cousins back home?" Ven asked, mindful of what Mel and Evie had said.

"Well… _yeah_ , but…"

"Well, we do too. But we play with girls as well. Well, actually – Aqua and Mel are adults so we should call them women." Ven added.

"Puh," Terra tossed his head scornfully, a lock of hair bouncing on his brow. "She sure doesn't _act_ like an adult."

He then turned to look at Tarquin with a grin as Ven said, "See? We don't really mean it."

Tarquin stared at them both uncomprehendingly. "I don't understand." He said in a small voice.

"What do you not understand?" Terra asked, his tone very gentle and full of patience.

Tarquin shifted uncomfortably under their gaze for a while, and eventually he said in a murmur, "It's so different back home…" and, after they had waited patiently, he continued with, "My mother and sisters would _never_ talk to my father like that, ever. And never for a joke…"

Ven and Terra exchanged looks.

"Things are very different here. I understand it's hard for you right now and you're not used to the way we do things, but you have to understand that here people are selected for roles and responsibilities based on their abilities, not their gender. And we're not really fighting with each other, we're just teasing. Aqua is a strong leader and we all respect and trust her. And she's our best friend, she gives as good as she gets when it comes to teasing."

Tarquin nodded, wide-eyed and still not quite comprehending.

Terra pricked up his ears, and Ven turned to see Mel walking across the other side of the square with Leo hanging his chin over her shoulder. He stood up and called out to her, and she turned towards them at a jog, Leo sniffing at the air inquisitively in her wake. Tarquin watched closely as the dragon trotted over to them before carefully settling down to tuck each limb in close before he lowered his head and snuffled at Mel's hip. She put her hands on his muzzle and he crooned loudly; Koba cooed back from the sling tied around Mel's torso.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

Terra grinned and poked her free shoulder. "You smell." He said.

Mel raised an eyebrow, and didn't take the bait. Leo lifted his head so he was at Terra's eye level, and gave him a very long look that made Tarquin squirm uneasily and try to shelter his egg, already anticipating Leo's possible reactions.

"And I mean _really_ smell." Terra went on brightly.

Mel twisted the corner of her mouth, unsure of how to take this remark, and she turned to Ven, who was smiling benignly at her, trying not to laugh. Leo's lips curled back in a silent snarl, and Tarquin shrank back from the gesture; Terra stood unafraid before the great glowering brute.

"Really, _really_ smell-"

"Did you call me away from Leon's errand just to insult me?" she asked quietly, slowly wrapping her arms around herself and the little chick, who reached up to stroke her chin with a paw, and tried to lick her cheek. Mel looked down at her with a reflexive smile, and preceded to cuddle her up close and kiss her nose, her legs crossed at the ankles and one foot balanced on the ball.

"What Terra means is," Ven said, giving him a hard shove so he had to stagger sideways, and leaving Ven standing square in front of Mel. Leo's eyes followed Terra's progress and he uncurled his lips with a great exhalation of breath. "We're trying to demonstrate to Tarquin that guys and girls can tease each other and mean nothing by it. Because they're friends, and gender roles are – silly!" he had been about to say stupid, but he didn't think calling Tarquin's cultural upbringing 'stupid' would be a very tactful move.

" _Ohh_." Mel caught on quickly. "I see." She cuddled Koba again, as she was licking her collarbone and whining for attention.

"So Mel. You smell. Hey, it even rhymes!" Terra looked so pleased with himself.

It was all the more funny when she fixed him with _that look_ , looked him up and down very slowly and deliberately, and said, " _You_ smell."

"You smell worse. You reek of dragon!"

"Funny that, isn't it? Being the Dragon Keeper and all." She said, reaching up without looking to rub Leo's jaw. He closed his eyes and lowered his head with a grating hum and nuzzled against the length of her body. "Who would have thought? Anyway, I have a job to do for Leon, so I'll talk to you later."

"Hey, I'm not done being insulting to you yet!" Terra grinned, stepping after her and colliding heavily with Leo's muzzle instead.

Leo grinned wolfishly, displaying all of his canines before he gave an almighty shove that would have knocked Terra off his feet if Ven hadn't grabbed his arm to steady him. Leo took great care, as he turned about and sauntered after Mel, to scuff up a cloud of dust and grit at them with a hind foot. Tarquin watched the dragon walk away with unguarded amazement, and as Ven and Terra started on each other good-naturedly, he gently lifted the egg from the bag at his hip, and looked from its oily surface to Leo and back again.

He waited patiently for Ven and Terra to stop bickering, and the younger man turned toward his unasked question, prompting it to be spoken.

"Is…will my dragon be as big as him? Will he be black too?" Tarquin asked quietly.

"We don't know. We won't know until they hatch," Ven explained. Mel had gone over the egg very carefully, trying to get a feel for the aura of the chick inside, to no avail. Now added to their list of facts about Keyblade Dragons was that the eggshells seemed impenetrable to magic and energetic probing (Mel had also flatly refused to let anyone put the egg in any type of x-ray or CT scanner, much to Kyo and Evie's disappointment). Mel couldn't get any sense of the dragon inside; all she could report on was that she was quite sure the oily sheen over the grey surface of the shell was green, which meant little because Leo's had been slightly purple, and his pelt was mostly black. Her inability to read any energy from the egg explained how she could have possibly missed what it was, and how deeply important Leo's own egg had been at the time she had received it.

They moved off further into town, keeping an eye out for the Committee and offering their services when they bumped into anyone, but it was a slow day today and Mel and Leo had everything in hand and paw, while Aqua was running an errand in the library for Ansem with Kyo and a couple of his friends. There was very little to do, so they continued to talk idly, and Tarquin found his voice again more confidently, spurred on by the men's willingness to listen.

"I mean, it made sense to me that you all listened to Mel," Tarquin explained to them, looking down at the egg in its bag. "Because she's clearly a mother. Mothers look after people, so I could see why you all let her take command of the dragon and the egg. But…" he bit his lip, suddenly wondering if he was pushing his luck. "I just didn't understand why you let Aqua make all the decisions…" he admitted sheepishly.

"We all help make decisions." Terra told him. "We're a team, and everyone has their own opinion on how best to do things. We all talk together about the problem or situation, and we work out how best to deal with it together. Aqua is a High Master, which means she out ranks us in the Order of the Keyblade, but she's not our boss. She'd be nothing without us, and we're nothing without her."

Ven didn't say it out loud, not wanting to contradict and thereby undermine Terra in this instance, but he was quite sure Aqua was not nothing without them; granted, she would be angry, upset and probably heart broken, but Ven was sure she was stronger than that. She had certainly already proved it once before.

"She delegates jobs to us and coordinates our efforts." Ven added, with a smile. "She's really good at it. And she listens to what everyone thinks and has to say. That's what makes a good leader."

Tarquin nodded at this, and mulled everything over while they walked back to the Castle Postern to regroup. There, they found Aqua leaving the castle with a nice thick stack of books. They also found Evie and Rhiannon, arm in arm pretending to be drunk as they sang their own rendition of 'Books, Glorious Books' and staggered past them with great exaggeration. Terra laughed, and then turned to Aqua with probably the express intent of poking fun – and instantly sealed his mouth shut when he saw the look on her face.

"I have had to deal with _that_ for the last half hour." She said shortly, jutting her chin in the direction the two lunatics had gone.

Yuffie strolled by, looking down at a tablet into which she was inputting readings from a small notebook, and she paused to watch Evie and Rhiannon stumble by as they continued to sing. "Go home idiots, you're drunk!" she shouted good-naturedly.

This merely sparked an argument that went roughly along the lines of that, there was surely no blood in their alcohol systems, and rounded their spectacle off by leaping onto the high wall opposite the postern, turning to wave and bow merrily before leaping over the edge with a loud whoop and a series of resounding and theatrical crashes as they landed.

In the sudden silence that followed, Ven noticed that Mel and Leo had just appeared around the corner, and that Kyo and Tomasa were stood beside Aqua. The latter was staring at the wall with a raised eyebrow, while the former stared at Aqua as though he were afraid she would clip him round the back of the head.

"I am _so sorry_." He said in a small voice, wringing his hands around the book he was holding.

"It's okay, Kyo." She said with a small sigh, giving him a reassuring smile.

"I didn't think she'd take me seriously-!"

"It's _fine_." Aqua hefted her books into one arm so she could lean over and ruffle his hair. "I won't blame you for their antics."

Kyo looked very contrite, all the same.

Tomasa turned to his cousin when she drew level, and asked incredulously, "Are they _always_ like that?" Mel stared at him with her best and blankest expression. To this, he inhaled deeply, and turned forward to stare into the middle distance. "No further questions your honour…"

Kyo scuttled over to Mel, looking forlorn. "I didn't mean to start it…"

"I believe you," she said gently.

Kyo's expression hardened. "You're not staying, are you?"

"Kyo, I _can't_. We need to get back and get the dragon's fed."

"You could do that here." Kyo grumbled.

"Don't be such a big baby. We'll live without her for a couple of days," Tomasa said bracingly, pinching Kyo's shoulder as he walked past. "Come on then, I have to get going too."

Kyo snarled at them both. "Yeah, _fine_. Just leave me behind!"

Mel closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. Ven walked up to her and slid Koba out of the sling quickly before walking away to give the family some space. It took some time (and on Mel's part, skill) to placate Kyo, who had been in something of a ratty mood for most of the week. When he finally walked back to the castle willingly, it was Tomasa's turn to bicker with Mel. Terra dragged Tarquin well clear of the pair of them, and while Leo was persuaded to hang back as well, lips curling all the while, Ven walked a few paces behind them both.

"-It's just like you to say that," Tomasa was griping at her, running a hand through his inky black hair so it stood up and looked even more like a spray of ink.

"What exactly did you want me to do?" Mel countered, adjusting the weight of the satchel hanging from her shoulder.

"He's not a kid-"

"He _needs_ specific support. He gets that here, Ansem and Leon and the others look after him."

"You can't mother him forever." Tomasa shot back.

"I'm not trying to be his mother." Mel said shortly. Her tone, coupled with the set of her shoulders, alerted Ven to her mounting irritation.

"You give a damn good impression of it." Tomasa snapped at her.

Mel stopped in her tracks, and he jumped when she rounded on him. "What do you want from me, Tom?" she demanded quietly. "I want to protect him as much as you do. But you're always trying to stuff him into a box that he won't fit into. And do you honestly think I'm _not_ feeling guilty about how much time I can't spend with him now that I have one and potentially two other dragons to look after? I have a hard enough time keeping Leo properly fed. Don't blame me for not caring about my own brother." Mel turned abruptly and power walked towards the nearest big square from which they would take off, leaving her cousin behind looking pale, angry and remorseful.

Tomasa didn't meet anyone's gaze as he made his way off in the other direction, muttering his goodbyes with little grace. Leo lowered his head, tilting it in Tomasa's direction, and gave an explosive snort.

"Someone's in a cheery mood," Terra muttered, and then yelped when Ven lodged his elbow hard into his ribs. Koba squeaked at the sudden jolting motion and Terra's cry of pain, and scrabbled at Ven's arm to escape. Leo snorted again and leant down to nuzzle her reassuringly, and to nip Ven's hand in warning.

"What was that for?" Terra demanded, nursing his ribs.

Ven relinquished his hold on Koba, and Leo swung her up and out of the firing line quicker than you could blink, pausing to give the pair of them a sidelong glare. Ven held his hands up in frustration. "You are _not_ helping matters," he hissed at Terra before stalking off after Mel.

By the time he caught up with her, Ven had managed to calm his expression and his irritation. She was sitting cross legged atop a stone plinth beside a water feature, and smiled when she saw him. Mel looked tired, and a little troubled, but she brightened when Leo paced over and deposited Koba in her lap.

"Hello you," Mel cooed, running a hand from the top of her head to the end of her tail. Koba arched her back like a cat as she leaned into the touch.

"Home time?" Ven asked, scratching Leo behind an ear, and nearly being swept off his feet as Leo imitated Koba's motions.

"Mhmm…"

"And some ham and cheese pasta bake…?"

"You had me at hello." Mel said, lifting Koba above her head. The little dragon crooned and stretched down to touch her brow with a clawed paw. "How does pasta sound, Koba?"

Koba opened her mouth and made a series of high pitched grating noises, tail wagging happily.

"I think Koba would like that too." Mel said, turning to fix Ven with a genuine smile. He grinned back at her.

"Okay, let's go, people! Home time, I'm starving," Terra called across to them as Mel stood up and jumped off the stone plinth, reaching for Leo's saddle as she went.

Having to be a show off, Terra mounted Leo's tail and mimicked a tightrope walk along it to the dragon's back. Leo stood patiently waiting until Terra was standing precariously on his hips; then he quickly raised his hind feet onto the extreme of their toes before settling again with a sharp jerk that would have sent Terra tumbling to the ground if he hadn't grabbed a strap in time. The net result was that Terra smashed his face against the side of Leo's leg, and probably wrenched one or more muscles in his shoulder in the process.

Mel gave Leo a smack on the underside of his jaw and a stern look when Leo twitched his ears without contrition. "Enough." She said shortly, and he flicked them right back as he dipped his head down in submission.

"He was asking for it…" Aqua muttered without subtlety as she glided past.

"Come on," Ven sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then he looked up suddenly, startled comprehension dawning on his face.

"What is it?" Mel asked in a low voice as Aqua tended to Terra's bruises without sympathy.

"How am _I_ the responsible one here?" Ven asked, wide eyed.

Mel snorted, clapped a hand over her mouth, and proceeded to attempt to cover up her giggles. Eventually, she managed to say calmly and with a straight face, "I have no idea," before she sprang up into the saddle with a boost from Leo. "Let's go home then,"

XOXOX

Riku absently lifted the fluffy silver tabby off the counter top and back onto the floor. It meowed at him grumpily before shuffling off again, and he turned back to the pile of bags on the counter. He unloaded them, and realised too late he hadn't bought any cat food, which prompted a sigh. He cast the cat a sideways glance, and sighed again when he saw it was trying to claw up the rug. Riku went over and picked the cat up before dumping it on the threshold of the back door. He got a filthy look in response, and the cat stalked off in a huff.

Riku's mother had decided to get a cat, without really talking to anyone about it. Which meant Riku had tried to shoo the poor thing out of the house repeatedly the first day he came home after it had arrived. Their relationship hadn't really improved from that point onward. Kairi had already patched up his hands after the first couple of run ins they had had; he was now attempting to make amends with the fluffy menace, to little avail.

Today, Riku was house sitting, as he would be all weekend; his mother was away visiting distant relatives, his father was on a business trip, and he currently had no home work to complete (except for some magic practise and katas for Aqua, but it hardly felt like homework). He was in charge of the food shopping, had been to the bank to pay a couple of bills on his father's behalf, and he was about to put his cooking lessons with Terra into practise. In short, Riku felt like a real, responsible adult.

Although, perhaps more than anything else, he felt like a normal young man, looking after the house in his parents' absence.

Rather than go back for cat food, he simply took some meat from the stir-fry he was cooking and set it aside in a bowl for when the cat came back inside. Sora called while he was chopping onions, and they arranged for him and Kairi to come round later when the food was ready, Sora offering to bring ice cream and Kairi setting off to make a fruit salad. When a knock came from the front door, Riku thought it was one of the two arriving early, so he just stuck his head through the kitchen door and shouted for them to come in.

"Could've given me another half hour," he griped, running a spoon through the food to keep it from burning.

"Ah- sorry."

Riku nearly dropped the spoon with surprise, and spun round to find Leah standing uncertainly in the doorway, a fluffy silver shadow haunting her step. Riku gave the cat a hard look as it sauntered into the kitchen.

"Sorry. I thought you were Sora." He explained. "Can I help?"

"Yeah, I wanted to return this to Rose," she held up a very battered looking leather bound book. "I didn't know when I'd next get to see her,"

"We're going next week if you wanted to come with us," Riku offered, turning his attention back to the pan for a moment.

Leah grimaced. "Sorry, I can't." she walked further into the kitchen and placed the book on the counter, far away from the hob, and leaned against the surface. "Visiting my grandfather. Couldn't get out of it."

Riku gave her a sympathetic smile. He and the rest of the island had heard stories about the man. To say that he was a difficult individual to interact with was putting it rather mildly.

"So," Leah drummed her fingers against the counter top. "What're you cooking?" she jumped when the cat leapt onto the counter, cool as you please, and fluffed its tail in her face.

Riku leaned over and in one fluid movement he slid a hand underneath the cat and whisked it over the edge, where he dropped it unceremoniously onto the floor. "Mom decided the house needed a cat." He grumbled, poking at the contents of the frying pan. "And its lamb mince with onions and garlic, some mushrooms and peppers…"

"Sounds goods." Leah leant over and gave an appreciative sniff. "Smells even better,"

"Do you want to stay for lunch? It'll just be me, Sora and Kairi." Riku said, looking sideways at her over the pan.

Leah smiled, tucking a few stray strands of her dark hair behind her ear. "Thanks, I'd like that."

Riku turned aside to lower the heat on the hob, smiling to himself. His little bubble of happiness was short lived, as Kairi came over about ten minutes later to warn him that Sora had informed Tidus and Wakka, and that they were coming over as well, especially keen in light of his parents' absence. That left Riku wringing his hands with despair.

"Is it _really_ that bad?" Leah asked, stealing some of Kairi's fruit salad while her back was turned.

"Yes!" Riku hissed, stalking across the kitchen and banging the pans with a little too much force into the sink. "The last time I let them have a 'party' at my place I got grounded for a week! We're talking about Tidus and Sora here,"

"You are such a grouch today." Kairi said listlessly, helping herself to some lemonade in the cupboard.

Riku rolled his eyes at her but said nothing.

"C'mon," Leah said, taking a bite out of an apple meditatively. "You must have been in more trouble after disappearing for those years on e- ahhh!"

Riku felt little compunction as he poked her in the ribs, making Leah squeak and jump.

"Don't even go there," Kairi said with a wry smile – and then noticed her salad was decidedly lacking in grapes, and joined in the assault. "Stop eating my salad!"

"I give in! I surrender-!" Leah pleaded, running away from Kairi as she advanced with a vengeance.

Riku leaned against the counter top and laughed at them both, and then sprang up when he saw the silver-grey blur. He didn't move quickly enough, and both Kairi and Leah ended up on the floor in a heap with the cat racing out of the room in a hissing streak.

"Here," he held out a hand to each girl and heaved them both off the floor, Kairi springing to attention far more quickly.

Leah rubbed her head and gave Riku a speculative look once she was back on her feet. "That cat's a menace."

"Try living with him." Riku said darkly, his scowl deepening when Kairi stifled a snigger.

From the front door, there came a resounding crash, and Sora's breezy greeting that was nearly drowned out by the other two boys' whooping. At first, Riku sagged, and then he simply slunk off towards the garden door in defeat.

"I can't deal with this today…"

"Hey guys," Kairi said without looking up from the cupboards as she brought out the bowls and cutlery.

Riku pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily, looking up when he felt something brush against his arm. Leah was leaning casually against the door frame, giving him a raised eyebrow.

"Hey now, I've seen you take on wild dragons and beat monsters back into the abyss with naught but a massive key in your hand. Are they _really_ that bad?"

Riku turned his face towards the heavens. "Right now I'd gladly take the dragon on, maybe a Heartless or two…"

Leah snorted. "What could Leo possibly do, snuffle you to death?"

Sora found Riku slumped on the ground with his back against the wall, laughing at the imagery her words conjured. If nothing else, it certainly sounded like something Leo would do… He let Leah pull him back to his feet and, still chuckling, went to greet his guests and brace himself for whatever Tidus and Wakka had managed to goad Sora into this time.

XOXOX

It was the middle of a glorious summer afternoon; the sun glanced out of the sky at just the right angle to bathe everything in a warm and golden light, the shadows just starting to lengthen. The sky was that shade of deep and brilliant blue, and the grass was soft under foot. They were sprawled in a rough semi-circle on the grass; Terra was sat hunched over a wood carving, Aqua laid on her back beside him with her nose deeply lodged in an interesting book while Koba dozed on her stomach, and Ven was lying on his stomach with his chin propped on his folded arms to gaze at the song birds twittering in the nearby bushes, instead of reading his notes. Mel was sprawled on her back, barefoot like the rest of them, with as much of her skin in contact with the ground as possible, quietly meditating.

It was one of those quiet, peaceful afternoons they occasionally allowed themselves, free of duties and chores; there was nothing they _had_ to do, for now it was simply a case of what they felt like doing.

Everyone was so thoroughly absorbed in their own activities that when Mel sat bolt upright with a yelp of surprise, just as they heard Leo in the distance roaring with alarm and distress, they all jumped. Aqua hit herself in the face with her book as she sat up, Koba squealed and squawked with alarm, Terra narrowly avoid slicing a thumb open, and Ven gave himself a crick in the neck with the speed with which he turned to look at Mel. She looked like a startled rabbit in the presence of a ghost.

"Mel-?" Terra began, but she was already moving, a grey and purple streak as she raced across the open grass to the ridge where Leo had paced off earlier.

Ven bounced up, Keyblade suddenly in hand as another roar, this one a grating challenge, echoed up to them. By the time he caught up to Mel, Leo had swept the young apprentice up underneath him where he was protected from the monsters that assailed them, though he was unable to fight back effectively from this stance, so he was resorting to an awful lot of bluster and bluffing to maintain the distance. Shaking wings, fanning feathers, puffing his chest and plumage as far as it would go – he was a formidable sight to the untrained eye, but they could clearly see his paws were tied to defend the youngster; placed firmly on the ground to keep Tarquin tucked in and not inadvertently smacked around the back of the head or caught on his talons.

Mel raised a hand to summon her blades and hurled the Dragons' Key at the closest creature. These were some horrible misshapen parodies of what could either have been a dog- or cat-like animal, streaked white and grey like a washed out tiger's stripes. The weapon struck its hind quarters, driving the thing into a rage that distracted the others around it enough so that Aqua could run in under Leo's wing, grab Tarquin by the scruff of the neck and yank him well out of harm's way, clutching the chick to her chest as she went.

The moment Tarquin was free of Leo's range, he pounced with a snarling vengeance. The fight was over quickly; some of the individuals were so severely deformed it was a wonder they had managed to fight back at all, though Terra walked away nursing a few oozing cuts, holding a bundle of freshly picked leaves Mel had pressed into his hand as she rushed back and forth, tending to Ven's bruised ankle and Leo's retching (he had taken a quantity of some foul-smelling liquid to the mouth). Aqua came to help, dropping Koba into Ven's lap where she squeaked and shivered until he soothed her with a few kind words and a cuddle.

"What even _are_ those things, though?" Tarquin asked, wide eyed as they traipsed back up to the castle.

"I'd give a lot to know." Terra said dryly, smiling without humour. He turned his head to look at Mel's expression.

"It's okay," Ven was saying gently, a hand on her shoulder.

"But-!" she began, in a state of high distress.

Ven swung her round to look him square in the eye and spoke in a low tone that was lost to their hearing as they tactfully kept moving along the path. The last thing they caught were the words, "Everyone's fine," followed by, "That's not the point, Ven…!"

"I'd better send Evie a message," Aqua said grimly to Terra.

"Does Evalyn know then?" Tarquin asked curiously.

Aqua gave him a wry smile, which made the boy blush and look at his feet. "No. But she wants to know about their movements,"

"Why?"

Terra smiled a genuine smile at this; Tarquin was quickly shaping up to be a worse student than Ven. When his confidence and curiosity got the better of him, it was nothing but endless, _endless_ questions.

"Hail!"

And speak of the devil, they all looked up to see Evie standing atop the low stone wall that surrounded the main courtyard. Aqua waved her down, signalling from a distance their sense of urgency, and the Master jumped down easily to land and spring up at a run.

"Bloody hell," was her opening line, especially as Ven limped his way over in Mel's wake. "You lot've been in the mill since I last saw you. Oh, let me guess," she growled into her palm with frustration.

"Yup." Terra said dully.

"C'mon then," Evie waved them forward, reaching reflexively for her bow before turning instead to her Keyblade. "I left Rose up there by herself. And it looks like you could do with a good looking at." She narrowed her eyes at the two men. "The pair of ya. Move it,"

The Mage came inside with them, making Ven sit down at the kitchen table to have a look at his ankle while Evie saw to the tea. Mel properly cleaned out the gash on Terra's arm and then Rosie packed and bandaged the wound tightly before she passed around mugs of chamomile and mint tea. Evie went down to take a look at the corpses with Aqua, and came back scratching her head in bewilderment.

"It makes no damn sense…" she said softly, as if to herself as she was handed a bowl of soup.

"What?" Rosie asked as she prodded Ven's ankle again, frowning.

"It's…" Evie shook her head, muttering to herself. "The morphology is all wrong…"

"Well of course. We had figured out as much before now,"

"No, no. I meant the _pad_ morphology."

Rosie paused in the act of wrapping a soaked bandage around Ven's leg. "Go on." She said slowly.

Terra raised an eyebrow at the exchange, before turning to Aqua who could only shrug back. Leo snorted softly from his corner, now that the action was over he had curled up with both chick and egg in the crook of his left foreleg.

Evie took a while to compile her thoughts, eyes closed for a few moments over her interlocked fingers. "One paw is definitely felid. At least on the one specimen I looked at closely."

Mel winced and ran a hand through her tangled hair. "Sorry…" she murmured. Leo had mangled more than one during the fight, a fact that unnerved them all to varying degrees. Mel hadn't seen what Leo did to the one that had knocked her unconscious and mauled her shoulder in Radiant Garden a few months before…

Evie waved her away distractedly. "Felid. But the others were distinctly canid, but I could have _sworn_ one of them was a classic fox print,"

"You've lost me." Terra stated.

"Oh come on, I thought you went hunting! You _have_ to know about tracking and ID-ying species," Evie berated him.

"Fox?" Mel asked with a slight frown.

"You'll know!" Evie turned to her expectantly. "The difference between a wolf, a dog and a fox print. It's like the legs all belonged to one type of animal but the feet and the pads were all from different species altogether." Evie suddenly grabbed and pulled a little at her hair, and Rosie disconcertingly giggled. "It's doin' my _head in_."

"I lived with this for two years." Rosie explained when they all turned from Evie's frustration to her in bewilderment. "You don't learn a thing or two about ecology without becoming a tracker to a certain extent. All of us living under the same roof could tell what tracks belonged to which species after about a month."

"What the actual, freakin'…" Evie muttered darkly to herself, scowling at Rosie's bright smile. "Can't you just go die in a corner quietly?" she sneered at her.

"Come now, where's the fun in that?" Rosie simpered, reaching for her satchel. Evie grumbled some more, but didn't poke any further.

"So, you came to see us?" Aqua began.

"Ah, yes. I wanted to ask you something. Just a moment,"

"I can wait," Ven said, trying to brush her off, but the healer in Rosie wouldn't be deterred.

"The spell will only take a moment. It's the prep work that takes the longest, trust me."

And sure enough, less than five minutes later the bandage and poultice had been removed from his leg, and the bruising and sprain were all completely gone.

"I do love magic sometimes," he said to Mel, stretching his leg out.

Rosie packed everything away and returned to the table, resting her elbows on the surface and then giving Evie a withering look when she mirrored the gesture, bouncing with a pantomime of supressed eagerness. Evie grinned at her old friend and stuck her tongue out, so Rosie reached out with her open palm and pushed her face away and to the side.

"If I could have a moment of decorum-"

Rosie's Staffordshire Bull Terrier, a lovely boy by the name of Baldrick who had dutifully lain down and out of the way under the kitchen table when they had come inside, suddenly started barking.

"Shush up, Balders," Evie said, but he wouldn't be silenced.

"Baldrick," Rosie began with some alarm, which quickened when Leo snarled back. There was still blood on his muzzle, and Rosie had a general fear of dragons at the best of times.

A soft snuffling sound was eventually heard when the other noises died down.

"I should probably take him back to my ship," Rosie said uncertainly, hunkering down beside her dog as he quivered with interest, heedless of Leo's almighty glower. The Mage took comfort from the fact that everyone else was treating Leo's manners as though they were mostly due to petulance.

Tarquin turned around the for fifth time to stare at Leo, who was oblivious to his gaze. Terra followed his line of sight, trying to put the pieces together. Mel slowly stood up and moved across the room, and as most were occupied with Baldrick, who was known to almost never bark at anything, they didn't pay attention to what she was doing.

"What's got into the great lump?" Evie asked. "Here Balders," she offered him a biscuit from her pocket, but he didn't look or even sniff at her. "What's with the World today?" Evie sighed heavily. "I swear, everyone I've seen this week has been off like this one way or another…"

"Getting attacked out of the blue does that." Terra remarked, despite the warning look Aqua shot at him. "I mean," he went on comfortably, "it didn't help that Mel made us all jump out of our skin," he moved his legs to allow Tarquin to squeeze past him as he hastily scrambled to his feet. "I nearly took my thumb off, thanks to you!"

"Guys," Mel said softly.

"Could have mutilated my hand! Scarred for life!"

"Yeah, at least it wouldn't have been your pretty face," Ven shot back with a sly smile.

Rosie pressed her lips together to avoid laughing out loud, and Evie simply raised an eyebrow, then sniggered at Aqua's groan.

"Oh good grief…"

"No, let's hear it out, Ven! I want to know-!"

"Guys."

"Hang on a sec," Terra cut across her as he leaned forward.

"Let the woman speak, for crying out loud! You bitch of a patriarch you,"

"Lynn- _Eva_ lynn. You, idiot person," Rosie said, correcting herself multiple times, waving a hand in a vague gesture as her old friend burst out laughing. "Drop the feminist speech, there's only so much man bashing I can take in a week."

"Ohhh," Evie bit her knuckles with genuine sympathy. "You had Aunty Ange come visit you again, right?"

Rosie hung her head in defeat. "There's feminists, then there's the small minority that give the rest of us this horrendous image… It's supposed to be about gender equality, not misandry…"

Evie paused for a moment to consider before she shrugged and said, "Isn't that the way with all demographic groups, to an extent?"

"Guys-"

"Evie, we're not having this conversation." Rosie cut across her warningly.

"Don't skirt the issue, bitch!"

"There's a time and a place to play the social justice warrior-"

"Yeah, I know! We've got no Wi-Fi here, or internet access or _anything_!"

Rosie's only response was to mimic the action of wringing something between her hands with such a fierce scowl it was comical.

" _Guys_."

"What _now_?" Terra demanded, turning in his chair to look across the kitchen at her.

"The egg's hatching."

 _That_ had everyone's full and instant attention.

XOXOX

They took to the common room, and made a nest of blankets for the new hatchling for when they would be free of the egg, and loosely bundled another blanket underneath the egg itself before the fire place. Leo paced back and forth as best he could in the cramped space, dancing with an agitation that freaked Rosie out to the point where she volunteered to go on more tea runs than was really necessary.

Tarquin wound himself tighter than a coiled spring and curled up into a ball beside the egg, eyes glued to it as it shook and squeaked and periodically gave a loud cracking sound as the shell began to split from the inside. Mel sat by calmly, Koba in her lap, trying to be a steady and still point in the boy's consciousness. Terra went to set up a few summons crystals around the entrances to the castle with Aqua for extra peace of mind while they were so occupied, before they returned to sit and wait with the others.

Evie finally said, after a long and by then awkward silence, "I'm about to watch a new Keyblade dragon be welcomed into the World." She blinked. "Is it wrong and utterly terrible that I'm kinda going to enjoy holding this over Rhi?"

"Yes, yes it is, Evie." Rosie chastised her from above where she was leaning over the back of the sofa.

Leo snorted and slumped to the floor in a heap, edging his nose closer to the makeshift nest. Koba had to make several attempts to draw his attention to her, as he was too absorbed with the egg. Mel carefully lifted the little chick onto Leo's head, where she comfortably wrapped her tail around one of his horns and dozed off with a wide yawn. Leo settled down then, curling into his corner though he kept his head laid on the floor beside the egg where he could keep both eyes on it.

They played the waiting game, and Ven was struck with a sudden, near overwhelming sense of nostalgia. He remembered vividly standing in the Master's study, waiting for Mel's stone to hatch. Of course, things were very different now, but that same sense of taught anticipation sifted through the atmosphere. Slowly, the rocking became incessant, the cracks and squeaks louder, and Tarquin had to actually be unfurled from his curled in position and helped to straighten out his stiffened limbs, he was so rigid with anxiety. He jumped right out of his skin when a piece of shell went flying out of the side and hit his leg.

Very carefully, Mel tilted the hole in the egg upward and peered down into it. "Not long now," she said softly. Leo pricked his ears at this, and lifted his head, nostrils flaring.

It was another twenty minutes or so before the egg shell crumbled apart enough that they could remove large pieces to reveal the little dragon inside. The hatchling squawked with a voice that was distinctly more metallic than Koba or Leo's, and stared up blinkingly with the bright, intense blue of a new born. By then, Evie and Aqua were kneeling on the floor beside Mel, with Rosie and Terra hovering over Tarquin's shoulders. Leo breathed out heavily, his breath stirring the bedraggled baby fluff of the little chick that was already beginning to dry.

The arrangement of the tail was peculiar, and instantly caught Evie's attention. Two prong like structures protruded either side of the tail, roughly in the same place where Leo's own tail fins were on his tail, but there were just the two, one on either side, and both with a strange curve. The skull sported three horns, which slanted backward high and far back from the face, and gave an illusion of size to the tiny head. The chick's skin was a healthy, mottled grey and black covered with a fine downy fuzz like a baby bird.

They stood up slowly and shakily, blinking at the myriad of blurry faces around them, then gave a very loud squawk, and took their very first step. The third step had them falling face first into the blankets with a shriek, and Leo pushed Ven out of the way to nuzzle at the little chick with a soft croon. They instantly reacted to the noise and nuzzled back against his snout, humming with a high, grating note.

All the while, Tarquin stared in silent, dumbstruck amazement. Evie and Rosie watched with keen interest, the others with anticipation as they all mentally flicked through their memories of Leo's hatching, comparing and contrasting the two situations.

Very gently, Mel reached toward the chick when no one else did, but they squeaked and reared backward with alarm and fell over, getting tangled in the blanket. Tarquin suddenly leapt up and Mel flattened herself against Leo's cheek to give him room as he carefully detangled the wailing dragon and picked them up. This had the desired effect of soothing the little chick, and they leaned up to lick his throat and nibble on his shirt. Tarquin stared at Mel, his mouth hanging open, speechless and lost. It hadn't occurred to him until he saw her looking at him like that, that he realised he had picked up the chick and held them the same way Mel would hold Koba. He reflexively pulled them closer to his chest, tucking hind feet under his hand and pulling the tail under his arm; the hatchling's response was to snuggle closer to him with another loud grating noise in their throat.

"At risk of starting to stereotype," Evie said slowly, and turned to Mel. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Rosie gave her such a withering look. In response to the quizzical one she received in kind, the Mage said, "One of these days, I might actually kill you."

"All righ'!" Evie put her hands in the air. "I get it, not the time or place for societal gender stereotyping conversation. All gender-neutral colours. Beige and cream galore. Calm down. Jesus, she loses the spirochetes and the bitch gets violent,"

Terra swung his open fist around and caught Evie against the knee, causing her to over balance so she fell backwards with a yelp and a thump. Aqua stared at him with amazement and disapproval, until Rosie said primly, " _Thank_ you," to which the High Master started laughing.

"Guys!" Ven barked at them, making the other adults turn to look at him. He was crouched beside Leo, a hand resting on his muzzle as Mel very gently lifted the new chick's chin up so she could get a better look at their head. " _Seriously_?"

Much later that evening, when for the adults the novelty of a brand-new hatchling had already worn off, and they were instead considering the logistics of the situation, that Terra considered to himself: it was weird to have Ven being the mature voice of sense and decorum around the castle.

XOXOX


End file.
